Seeking Each Other
by Mizura
Summary: A kinda indepth view of some Wu relationships. (SC x DQ, XQ x ZY, SSX x LX) [Ehe, I wasn't trying to bore everyone, really I wasn't.]
1. Da Qiao & Sun Ce

**Part 1**

Da Qiao slowly rested herself underneath a large blossoming tree, her gaze rising up toward the sky. It was still early, she noted, and the clouds were slowly parting to reveal the rising sun. She took in a deep breath of air, happy that there had been no fighting for the last few days. She still couldn't help but feel worried about Sun Ce, who had gone off to check up on some of the lesser officials of Wu, situated in a camp a day away. He had gone only yesterday, she knew, but it felt almost an eternity. She watched as her sister rushed to join her, both of her violet shaded fans in her hands. Da simply smiled and raised her eyes back to the sky. She knew that Ce would be doing the same at the time. He had always been an early riser, contrary to most belief, and she had caught him looking outside of his window and gazing out at the sky plenty a day. She questioned him only once, and she remembered the man's brown eyes widen slightly when he found he was caught.

"Good morning to you too, Lord Sun Ce," the young woman had said, giving him a small nod and smile. "It is unlike you to be so dreamy, I would think."

"Dreamy?" Sun Ce had laughed, shaking his head. "Naah, not dreamy. I was just thinking, you know?" he paused, then returned his gaze to the window. "...someday we're gonna be able to all enjoy this sunrise and not have to worry about battle..."

Da was unable to mask her surprise and instead glanced aside. She giggled. "I thought you enjoyed fighting, my Lord."

"...not if it means our people haveta die." 

She had turned her head back to him, then nodded a little. "I agree wholeheartedly, my Lord."

A small smile touched the older Qiao's face as she recalled the memory. "Sis," she could hear from outside of her train of thought, "Are you paying attention to me?"

Da turned her face toward Xiao Qiao, who was pouting and looking worriedly toward her. The former smiled faintly again, then nodded. "Of course. Continue, little sister."

She watched quietly as her sister's expression returned to normal, a large smile on her face instead of the usually calm one on Da herself's, and her eyes beaming. Da could commend her sister on her innocence and charm. She had kept a close eye on the main officers of Wu, and after watching them for some time, she knew that Zhou Yu had an eye for Xiao. He had always been rather flirty with the women (and sometimes men, Da noted with a serene smile) and the only women he had not gotten some response out of, may it be a blush or more, were the two Qiao sisters. Zhou Yu's advances toward Da were simple, and after a few times, he knew they weren't connecting. Also, he knew better than to bother Sun Ce's object of affection. On the other hand, Xiao had been completely oblivious of his attention, and Da knew that Yu was intending on getting some kind of response from her sister. Zhou Yu had gotten kinder over the years, with always the exception of battle, where he turned cold and composed, much like most of the officers had to be in order to command well. Xiao barely ever mentioned him, and Da knew that the man would have to try harder in order to court her younger sister. She found it somewhat cute that Yu had stopped trying for the other women and had focused, but she was ready, if Yu ever hurt her sister, to give him lecture (and more) he wouldn't forget.

"You're not listening!" Xiao complained again, taking a seat next to her sister. She seemed exhausted, the frown restored on her face. 

Da raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised her sister would have such a lack of energy. "What is wrong, my sister?" she tried, and sighed when her response was:

"You're not listening to me, Sis! I was telling you the entire time and I--"

Da Qiao raised her gaze back up to the sky. Her sister usually was like this, moody near her, for they were so close, but cheery and bubbly near the others. She still loved her sister though, and she couldn't blame her sudden changes of expression. Still, she had so much in mind that her sister finally got up and made a face, knowing she was too busy thinking to pay notice to her sister. Da watched Xiao storm off, probably to go to Lu Xun's room instead. 

She had seen the two grow up together from afar, and she knew that they got along rather well. The only problem with their closeness, Da seemed to be the only one who knew: Whenever Lu Xun even looked in either Qiao's direction, Da could feel a cold glare from the princess of Wu, who was always busy doing one thing or another, and had barely enough time to rally troops to go to battle. Da felt somewhat bad for Sun Shang Xiang, who always hid her dislike with a cheery smile. Her eyes let on to how she felt though, and Da thought she would confront the princess when she had the chance. Now, though, Shang Xiang had gone off with her brother Ce, so she would have to wait. Da knew that Xiang seemed to have some sort of interest in the young strategist, but the Qiaos had both been her friends when they were growing up, and Xiang had no heart to be mad at Xiao's friendship with the young man. 

On the other hand, the one person Da had trouble with reading was Lu Xun himself. He always hid everything personal about him with a shy smile and a blush. Xiao always said how she liked to see his eyes light up when she talked to him, but whenever Da spoke, there seemed to be something deep down inside of the strategist's eyes that held something she couldn't read. She doubted it was pain--the young man was too innocent himself to know much about the world. He was a fairly decent fighter, but he was much better at thinking than fighting. She had seen the young man's eyes light up before, but still, the hidden something could still be seen--unplaced. Xiao seemed oblivious of this as well, and Da never questioned about it. She was just too polite to ask. While the other men were as obvious to read as a book, he was a book filled with symbolism that Da could not quite gather the meaning of. 

Da Qiao sighed to herself, getting up and dusting herself off. It was a pain sometimes to be the one who could sense these things. Da herself was still young, and however much she sounded ladylike, it was only because of her standing. The Qiaos were always marveled for their beauty, but were also deadly on the battlefield. She could proudly say that she was as strong as the male officers, but she would never think to say such things. It would be offensive, and she didn't have the heart to offend anyone. Still, it was always a triumph for the young woman when she could announce "I defeated an officer!" proudly through the battlefield. Sun Ce always was the one who would praise her and give her a quick thumbs up when he passed by. 

::Sun Ce...:: she thought to herself, breathing a soft sigh. She wondered when he was coming back. 

~~~ 

Sun Ce was indeed watching the sunrise, standing atop of hill to get a better view of it. He barely heard the footsteps behind him, and finally called out, "Hey. It's pretty, huh?"

His sister took a hesitant step forward and he turned to grin at her. Her face completely showed her confusion. "Pretty?" Xiang asked, a mocking smile on her face. "I thought you only used that word for Da Qiao."

Ce couldn't help his embarrassment. "Hey," he said quickly, trying to mask it, "She's not pretty, she's _beautiful_." 

"Oh gag, don't start being mushy, big brother." 

Sun Ce grinned again, then turned back up to the sky. He could tell that Sun Shang Xiang wasn't having such a good time in this other camp either. Shang Xiang always woke up late and she was always the one causing trouble. He sighed. He knew what the cause was. It was obviously because of the lack of Zhou Yu. He had promised he would go along, but then had stayed back, probably to be able to talk to Xiao Qiao more. Ce had noticed Xiang's irritated looks toward the younger Qiao, and he had it all worked out in his head. Zhou Yu had always been liked by the women, and even though his sister was indeed a tomboy, she was still female. Shang Xiang had always seemed somewhat nervous around Yu, and bingo, everything was set straight. Ce was proud of himself for figuring out what was going on. 

"Mushy?" Ce finally responded, turning back toward his sister. He took a moment to glance her up and down. Her hair was still shorter than his even though he had chided her to grow it and become more ladylike along with their father. He gave up easier than Sun Jian though. "As long as you don't talk about Zhou Yu anymore," he commented.

He saw Sun Shang Xiang's blush. "Why do you always talk about Lord Zhou Yu as if I'm interested in him anyway? Just 'cause he's your best friend doesn't mean we have to be close." she commented, frowning a little. She rolled her eyes. "You guys are just weird. Anyway, I'm going to wake up Quan. We get to leave here today, right?"

"See, you're anxious." he added, his grin widening. 

"I am NOT!" 

Ce had some time teasing his sister as he always did, at least when he had time. It passed time and it was fun for him. Even though his sister looked annoyed, he could tell that inside she was somewhat glad. He had been distant for the morning before when he had to leave the camp and now was slowly starting to return to himself. Ce waved his sister off, then grinned at himself, remembering the day that the older Qiao had found him looking out of the window at the sunrise. Perhaps she would be doing the same now too. 

"Yeah, right, Ce," he chided himself. "She's probably asleep like every other normal person in this world!" he sighed to himself, then took a seat on the ground. 

He had never been much for wooing the ladies, knowing that he was too much of a "tough-guy" to be seen doing anything mushy. He liked fighting, he had to admit, it was a good stress reliever, but he hated actually having to cut down people. Fighting was fun, battle was not. He knew he was good at both, though, a virtue he didn't know if he should rightfully have. 

Especially now that he had some interest in the older Qiao. He knew it started the day when she caught him. He could tell from her eyes that she had been somewhat lying. She had seen him plenty of other days doing the same thing. The thought itself was kind of embarrassing.

Sun Ce lay down on the grassy hill, his arms under his head to keep his hair from getting messy. The Qiaos were beautiful, he had to admit, like every other man had said, but the younger one was just annoying. She was nothing more than a pretty face, with no brains to back her up. He smiled to himself, knowing how much trouble he would get into if he said that outloud to her. Xiao was energetic and bubbly, but when she got mad she would whoop out her fans and slam whoever was around. His hand involuntarily went to the side of his stomach, remembering one of these so called days when he vowed never to annoy her again. 

Da on the other hand was serene, her expression always calm and a small smile plastered on her face, almost like a porcelin doll. He remembered back when he thought the two Qiaos were the same, both beautiful at the expense of their intellect. But, speaking with Da, he knew that she was much more than a pretty face. She wasn't like her sister, who he would think would be better off if she just _was_ and didn't act or speak. Da Qiao was much more mature and helpful, able to cook, to clean, and to do anything without whining. Sun Ce sighed, remembering one of the days that the younger Qiao was supposed to help out with the cooking and cleaning. It had ended a disaster, and even Zhou Yu wasn't able to think of something good to say to the young Qiao. Da had been the one to comfort her sister and make everything all right again. Ce had a slight admiration for the older Qiao, which was surprising because she was female. He never considered females as equal until he met her, and since then even his tomboy sister was on the same level as him. He scratched his head sheepishly. Then again, if she wasn't, she could easily beat him up as well. Or at least get to a draw. They were almost equal in battle. Ce a little stronger, Shang Xiang a little faster. The three female officers of Wu were rather strong, which made Ce feel proud. Hey, it was better than having them against him. Sun Ce's mind wandered again, this time to Zhou Yu. Yu was starting to act weird, Ce had finally figured, whenever he saw Xiao Qiao. Xiao was ignorant, and Ce couldn't help but laugh at Yu whenever Xiao would simply rush off when Yu was going to approach her. Many a time, Zhou Yu had warned Ce, "Don't even start..."

To which Sun Ce had simply laughed his head off and pointed and then soon enough got Zhou Yu angry enough to stalk away. They made up soon after, like most best buddies did, and then the process started again. Ce didn't know whether he should feel bad or not. Then again, Da didn't know his feelings toward her either, so Ce considered them both on the same block. Zhou Yu was ready to confess, but his obvious object of affection completely ignored him. Sun Ce knew Da would listen carefully to whatever he would say to her, but he wasn't ready to confess. He knew he'd never be ready. He was a man, anyway, and he shouldn't have to go through all this madness!

Sun Ce sighed, rolling over and plucking a piece of grass between his fingers. It would be another day before he could see his dark-haired beauty again, and he knew it would feel much longer. 


	2. Xiao Qiao & Zhou Yu

**Part 2**

Xiao Qiao was distracted. She had thought to visit Lu Xun's room at first, but then decided to wait just a while before going. Her sister had been ignoring her speak for the last hour or so, but she couldn't blame Da. She must have been worried about Sun Ce. Xiao was not half as ignorant as the others perceived her to be. She could hear Sun Ce and Da's conversations sometimes, and she knew how the man looked at her sister. It was the same look that Zhou Yu gave her whenever she came into his view. She always ran away from him though, because deep down, there was something about him that scared her. She knew about the cunning behind the pretty face of the man, and she knew how he had been able to easily woo the rest of the women nearby, willing to or not. Even Shang Xiang had a blush on her face when Yu spoke to her, which made Xiao wonder what really was so great about the man in the first place.

Sure, he had a nice face, more handsome than she had seen before. And sure, he was smart, able to back up the strategists almost as well as Shu's Zhuge Liang. And sure, he was completely after herself, since she was the only one who was able to steer clear from his affections. She hated to be seen as an object, as a trophy to be won as a sign that he had conqured all. She frowned to herself, then jumped up. She could talk freely to both her sister and Lu Xun, whom she had gotten to know rather well as she grew up. And if her sister wasn't going to listen, she would make Lu Xun instead!

As she trotted toward his room, she felt somewhat bad, knowing that he would listen attentively, even if he wasn't interested in her conversations. He was always like that. Polite and easily embarrassed, very easy to talk to, but somewhat defensive of his self. He rarely spoke about himself, and when he did it was in modesty. Xiao hit him on the head once with her fan because she got annoyed at this habit, which made the young man collapse once, and after that she figured never to attack him so suddenly again. That one day she had rushed to her sister who comforted her, and she heard that Sun Shang Xiang had been the one to take care of the young man as he recovered. She heard there was still a bruise on the young man's head, and she felt rather embarrassed about it all. Hey, she thought the hat might have stopped it from hurting that much. Oh well. 

She finished skipping to Lu Xun's room, then flung the door open, knowing he wouldn't mind. To her surprise, she found him laying on the bed, looking up toward the ceiling with a slightly blank look on his face. As soon as he heard the door, he sat up, his expression immediately returning to normal. "Oh, hello." he said, bowing his head politely. "Come in."

Xiao sheepishly shut the door after herself. She always felt nervous at his politeness, especially when he said to do something she already was doing. She moved over and took a seat next to him on the bed. "Whatcha thinking about?" she asked immediately.

Lu Xun blinked a few times, then shook his head, scooting over to give her more room. "I...was just wondering when the Sun family would return." Xiao blinked a few times, then shook her head. "No secrets, remember?" she asked eagerly, looking him up and down. He was cute, she noted, and his hesitation made him even more so. She paused, then shook her head. They had been friends for a long time and she had never noticed him as anything more. 

"They're going to be back in a few days, right?" 

Xiao Qiao was quiet for a moment, then grinned, moving to look up toward him. "I get it," she said, beaming a little. "You like Shang Xiang!"

She watched his face immediately turn red. "U--um, Lady Sun?" he shook his head, but Xiao could see a new light in the young man's face. "S--she...I..."

Xiao's grin grew wider. "Yay!" she exclaimed, "You should confess to her then when she comes back, huh? You're gonna, right? Right, aren't you huh?"

Lu Xun looked sheepish. "I um...well...I'll say that I like her as much as you like Zhou Yu. There."

Xiao Qiao blinked a few times, her grin fading a little. She paused, trying hard to think about what he meant by the comment, then shook her head. "NoooOoOo!" she exclaimed, "That's a bad example!" She caught a smile on the young man's face and sighed a little. "I don't like Lord Zhou Yu anyway," she said, shaking her head. "He's a woman's man man woman thing." she watched nervously as the smile widened on Lu Xun's expression. 

"There you go." he said softly, then raised his gaze up toward the ceiling. 

Xiao Qiao paused for a moment, trying to understand the meaning of this. She couldn't and instead pouted. "Well, anyway, you and Shang Xiang would make a cute couple, I think," she added in with a beam. "So yeah." she paused, then continued whining, "This isn't faaaaair, I can't talk to anyone 'cause everyone's ignoring me and they're too busy thinking about someone else!" with this, she hopped off of the bed and turned to go. Lu Xun's gaze went back toward her, and before she left, she could hear a soft, "I'm sorry."

She shut the door, leaning against it a little, then sighed. She couldn't wait for the others to return. At least then, everything would go back to normal. Hopefully. ::As long as they don't start all being mushy mushy of course,:: she thought to herself grimly.

~~~

Zhou Yu on the other hand was being accompanied by a young woman who he had found as slightly attractive and worth speaking out to. She was someone new, and from his experience, he knew she was the kind of woman who would follow him forever unless he gave her a curt excuse on why she shouldn't. It wasn't that he liked being mean to women, it was just that his personality didn't allow him to be less than cool toward them. He was just about to speak his normal curt line when he spotted Xiao Qiao rush off in the direction of her room. Instead of the usual calm rejection line he used, he immediately spoke the first thing that came to mind. "I--I have some business to do, I'll see you later."

As he walked off quickly to find the girl, he cursed himself for his uncollected train of thought. The young woman seemed to dismiss it, but he could not. He almost forgot what he was doing at the time until he crashed not-so-daintily into Xiao, who had finally turned around and seemed to be heading back to whereever it was she had left from. "Oof!" he heard, and immediately thought to put on his charm.

"Lady Xiao," Zhou Yu stated immediately, holding out one hand. "I apologize, I wasn't quite thinking." It was the truth this time, he added in his mind.

Xiao looked up toward his hand, then looked down. Yu frowned when she started to get up without taking the hand. "Lady Xiao," he started again, "Are you alright?"

Xiao Qiao's gaze went back up toward him, and he blinked a few times, seeing a blaze light up in her eyes. "Don't Lady Xiao me, okay?" she commented, her voice shaky. He paused, then finally seemed to figure it out. She was almost afraid of him. Her voice betrayed her annoyed expression, and the fire in her eyes made her that much more attractive in Yu's eyes.

"...what do you wish I call you then?" 

Xiao's expression seemed to change into one of confusion. "Well..everyone else calls me Xiao so I guess you can call me that too." she commented, brushing herself off. 

"Well then, Xiao," Zhou Yu started again, bowing his head slightly. "I apologize."

"I've gotten over that already," Xiao commented, surprisingly tempered. "If you'd excuse me, I was kinda busy." 

"I'll escort you," the man tried, instinctively running a hand through his hair. He thought he saw her hesitate, but again, she shook her head and sighed,

"No, I can go fine by myself, Lord Zhou Yu." the girl hopped once, then sent him a grin that he had never expected to be directed at himself. "See? I'll see you later, okay?" 

Zhou Yu watched as the little Qiao wandered off, then paused for a moment, trying to figure out what that meant. She almost seemed normal at the end of their conversation and he had seen the shaking come out of her limbs. He sighed. "Since when was I scary..."

He wandered back to his own room, taking a seat on the bed and sighing as he remembered her uncharacteristic anger toward him. He had always watched her when she was playfully talking to the others. She had even been energetic in front of Sun Jian when he was angry, but when she was in front of himself...

The man put a hand on his forehead. Maybe it had just been his imagination...

_Author Note:_ Poor Zhou Yu, that wasn't quite the personality I was going for..^.^; Oh well... *runs before he can kill me* 

Da Qiao: *Sigh* She's still introducing everyone........this will take another century won't it.... 


	3. Sun Shang Xiang & Lu Xun

**Part 3**

Sun Shang Xiang was more than tired when they arrived back. Being delayed, they had gotten home late at nighttime the next day. Sun Ce had rushed off to speak with Da, at least so she thought, and Sun Quan along with their father had immediately thought to go to sleep. Sun Shang Xiang knew that she would be best off doing the same. 

With a sigh, she took a step toward her room, then paused when she saw a familiar brown-haired man pacing back and forth near the Qiao's rooms. She paused to watch Lu Xun for a moment, her eyes following his movements. She had to admit, he _was_ short for a man, but he was still young and he was still taller than herself by a couple of inches. His usually composed look seemed to be filled with anxiety and worry, which made Shang Xiang pause a moment more. It almost looked as though he was going to confess something important to the Qiaos. She smiled to herself.

They were pretty anyway, so she couldn't blame him. Especially since he had such a close relationship with Xiao Qiao. She paused, then felt her smile fade. Shaking her head, she stepped over, then waved at Lu Xun, whose expression immediately shifted to almost amazement. "What are you doing over there?" Shang Xiang called out, casually stepping toward the young man. He bowed his head politely and she smiled, swiping the hat from his head and tossing it a few times in the air. "You looked awfully nervous from back here," she said, gesturing toward the direction she came from. She took a brief moment to admire his face before he hid it in embarrassment by turning aside. His hair was slightly messy, and he tried to smooth it down quickly. She tossed the hat back and he replaced it gratefully.

"I was just...thinking," Lu Xun started, then seemed increasingly worried. "I didn't know you'd be back so soon."

"Hm, you wanted more time without us Sun family back, huh?" she teased, then moved over so she could take a look at his face. He lifted his eyes toward hers for a moment, then back to the floor.

"That...that's not what I meant..." 

"Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say." Sun Shang Xiang grinned a little, then sighed inwardly, feeling almost like her older brother for a moment. She shrugged. "You shouldn't be wandering around the Qiaos rooms so late, by the way," she added in with a wink. "You're going to be seen as weird." with this, she turned around, hiding her expression easily with her back. She would have loved to stay and continued teasing the young man, for she simply loved seeing him blush and look so nervous. His blush always seemed to highlight his deep dark eyes as well, which always shone with a certain light whenever she saw him. She dismissed it as something seen to everyone, but not appreciated in the least. He was still young anyway, and she knew as much. "I'll see you in the morning, Xun," she added in, turning back to see him and giving him a small smile.

She waited for him to return it, and giggled to herself when his trademark blush returned to his cheeks. Without further ado, she wandered back into her room, feeling anything but tired now, and deciding to instead take a shower and clean off before going to bed. 

~~~ 

Lu Xun resumed pacing until Da's door slowly opened, revealing the dark-haired sister's pale face. She smiled, then gestured for him to enter, a mysterious twinkle in her eyes. He could tell that she had been getting ready to meet with Sun Ce later in the night, and he wondered if the two were finally going to get together or not. Xiao had spoken so many a day about the two's relationship and how she felt about them. Lu Xun had nothing more to say besides to wish the two good luck. Hopefully Sun Ce would be that much happier after the two actually were going out. Lu Xun hesitantly took a seat on the chair that Da pulled out for him, then quietly watched as she combed her hair carefully. 

"Did you wish to talk?" she asked softly. "Xiao already fell asleep a while back."

"It's alright," Lu Xun stated. "I apologize for interrupting..."

"You're interrupting nothing," Da said simply, pulling up her hair in her pigtails slowly. She turned toward him with the serene smile that he was so used to. He hadn't been one to speak so much to this sister, but he knew it would be just as easy to do so as it was to Xiao. She smiled. "Before you speak though," she said softly, "I want to know when you're going to confess."

Lu Xun blinked his confusion, feeling his face warm. Da's dark eyes watched him carefully and he shook his head, feeling as though she was probing through his gaze slowly piece by piece. "W--what do you mean?" he tried, even his voice betraying him. From behind her, he could see his flushed reflection in the mirror and he scratched his head sheepishly.

"You're interested in her, aren't you?" Da purposely paused, then smiled. "Sun Shang Xiang?"

The words hit him like a boulder. He tilted his head, stunned. Almost sure that she was going to say that he was interested in her sister, he was ready to deny the concept so greatly because he knew it was false. But now that he figured that Da already knew how he felt, he took a moment to recover. She was watching him again, carefully, her smile slightly larger. 

"It's written all over your face," Da continued, her voice somewhat soothing. "Your eyes...they light up whenever you're with Xiao, so I thought for a while..." she trailed off, then shook her head, "But the only time your eyes are completely lit up is when somebody mentions Lady Sun."

Lu Xun blinked a few more times, then tilted his head. He didn't know that she had been so keen in watching. Somehow, he felt more vunerable. He hadn't thought that someone had been paying so much attention to himself.

"Well, I--" he started, but he already knew he was caught.

Da Qiao's smile didn't fade. "I think it will work out quite well." she stood up slowly, then paused. "Did you wish to say something further?" The young man was too stunned to say anything and instead shook his head. "If you would excuse me, I'm supposed to meet with Lord Sun Ce." she bowed daintily, then walked with him outside of the room. She smiled again, the peaceful smile that he always saw on her face. "Good luck."

Lu Xun watched the older Qiao for a moment, then shook his head. As he walked where his legs led him, he paused to peer into the hallway mirror. His expression seemed neutral enough to himself, but when he took a moment to look into his eyes, he could almost see what the Qiao had spoken about. Taking a deep breath, he finally conjured enough strength to wander to the princess' room, hoping in all entirety that she would answer the door and at the same time not. The older Qiao had given him a small bit of hope, but he knew that as soon as she would open the door his will would collapse again and he would be back to his usually embarrassed self in front of her.

He knocked once on the door, then paused, knowing that if he was to back out now, he still had a chance. His hand raised again and he shut his eyes momentarily to think before he knocked once again. 

"Coming!" Lu Xun could hear muffled through the door. It only registered what had happened when he heard the sound of water stopping and a rush of footsteps toward the door. 

Sure enough, when the door opened, Sun Shang Xiang was standing with her hair wet and wearing only a towel. She looked toward him, then tilted her head. "Xun, what are you doing here?" she moved to let him in and he immediately turned around, his face burning.

"I--...it's not important, I can just come back another day--" he tried, then blushed further when she simply dragged him into her room, shutting the door after herself. She shook her head.

"You came here to talk, right?" she asked as she pushed him down to take a seat. "Hold on one sec, I'm going to get dressed." 

Lu Xun watched her rush off, then sighed, looking at the water marks all over the room. He felt somewhat nervous and guilty at the same time. The whole room was surprisingly neat spare for the water, and he had been the cause of that in the first place. He let out a soft sigh, standing up. He still had a chance to leave before she returned. He had just about taken two hesitant steps toward the door when she returned, wearing a semi-long red shirt and pair of shorts. She raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to run away?" she teased, a glint in her eyes that he could never seem to forget. He shook his head, not knowing what to say.

Obediantly, he moved back to take a seat where he was before. Sun Shang Xiang took a seat on the bed across from him, then smiled faintly. Lu Xun could feel her eyes upon him, and he lowered his own gaze, feeling his face warming. He wanted to admire her face too, but he knew that if he lifted his gaze, his face would only serve to warm further. He heard her giggle, then glanced up just slightly. The young woman moved forward to take his hat again and played with it absently. "So, what did you want to talk about?" she asked quietly. 

_Author's Note:_ Blaaah, now I'm starting to debate on the couplings. =.=; Oh well.... (o.0; if anyone has suggestions, that would help..)   
Da Qiao: Finally, we're onto the story. X_X; If anyone's even thinking about reading after such a long boring beginning....*yawns*   
Zhou Yu: ...that is if she thinks to continue after this. >_<; Why am I played down so much... 


	4. Chapter 1

_Author Note:_ ^.^; Before I continue on, I saw that there was a complaint about the pairings somewhat, no? And _Yes_ contrary to what it may seem, I do know SOME history about DW relationships. Let me clear it up so I don't get more complaints. This ficcy is not about real history. This is using the character designs in Dynasty Warriors the GAME. In my opinion it's too hard to write about any coupling other than Da/Ce and Xiao/Yu (since they're really close even in the gameplay), but SSX/Liu Bei's relationship isn't in the game so much, which is where I'm taking some leeway, if that makes sense? Enough ranting from moi...no one cares to read these parts anyway. Still, hopefully that clears things up a bit.. Anywho, back to the story. ^.^ (For those who thankfully kept an open mind. Ehe..)

**Chapter 1**

Lu Xun paused, then felt his face warm further. Not looking up toward her, he could tell it almost looked as though he was instead looking toward her legs which were lazily sprawled on the bed. Her shorts were short enough to barely show under her semi-long pajama shirt, and he immediately glanced aside, knowing better than to look suspicious. Which he knew he already did. "Well..." he started, his voice wavering. He knew he should just say what he thought, and he took in a deep breath. "It's like this..."

He recalled in his mind what Da had said earlier, along with Xiao's comments as well. He knew that it would be best if he could just say what he wished to, uncaring what her response would be. Unfortunately it didn't take much to know that he would be more than hurt if she didn't respond as he wished, and he was rather sensitive to the subject. Even if she _did_ respond positively, he didn't know what would go on next.

The young man was quiet for a very long time, then finally looked up toward her, his face burning. His gaze slowly met with Xiang's, who seemed surprisingly attentive. The glint from her eyes hadn't faded. "I..." he started, then paused, feeling his resolve waver. "I..."

Sun Shang Xiang let him look worried for a while, then smiled. He saw the glint fade from her beautiful eyes and he blinked a few times when she spoke. "You want to confess to a girl, don't you?" she asked, her voice almost shaky. "I think Xiao likes you too." she continued. "So don't get too worked up about it, okay?" she grinned, but the glint didn't return. "You want me to help you?"

Lu Xun knew that he was looking blank. He had to struggle to keep his mouth closed so she couldn't see his shock. Recovering after a pause, he shook his head. "W--well, I...um..."

::That's not it!:: he exclaimed in his head, his face still burning. "No problem," she said, giving him a grin. "I can help you. Want me to set up a date?"

"N--no," Xun immediately said, shaking his head and feeling worse than how he had felt earlier. He tried to concentrate on trying to stop his blushing, which he knew was making his face even warmer.

"It's okay, really," Shang Xiang said, a cheery smile on her face. "I'll do it if it's for you." she paused, then frowned. "Or did you think I'll screw everything up?"

"It's not that," Lu Xun tried again, then sighed, wishing that he could just slink away without further interrogation. He took a long moment before he raised enough courage to look up toward her again. ::It's not her,:: he willed himself to say, but before he could speak the words, she giggled, catching him off-guard.

"Bummer," Sun Shang Xiang said, a teasing smile on her face. "But I guess you two _would_ be an interesting couple."

The young man's heart sank. He opened his mouth, his mind filling with a million words of denial, but his voice not wishing to connect. Instead of speaking, he simply lowered his gaze, feeling as though his tongue had been cut off. He felt almost dizzy, unknowing what he could do to clear up the mistake. Without the use of his voice though, he knew it was impossible. He cleared his throat, then couldn't help but frown.

"Xun?" Shang Xiang tried, tilting her head a little. "You can do me a favor by answering me."

Lu Xun couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty, but he couldn't think of anything to say.

---

Sun Shang Xiang's voice came out strong and cheery, but deep inside she was about to let out a scream. She knew that Xiao knew Lu Xun much better than she herself did, but still, the Qiao was so young and Xiang knew how Zhou Yu was after her as well. She sent Lu Xun a grin, trying to force herself not to mention how angry Yu would be if Xun ended up with Xiao instead. She took a moment to look toward the blushing young man. He had stopped hiding his face and instead looked somewhat shocked, she figured because he hadn't expected her to notice.

"Are you wondering how I figured it out?" she asked hurriedly, "You were standing outside of her room a while back, remember?" she added in, trying to trigger a response. His expression stayed blank, and she attempted to read his deep brown eyes. The light from it had dimmed faintly, seeming as though he had her out of focus. Xiang frowned, then moved forward, waving a hand to him. "Xun..? Are you okay?"

Shang Xiang watched quietly as the blush seemed to deepen in his cheeks, matching the shade of his hat that the young woman still held in her hands. She wished almost to keep it, smiling at his somewhat messy hair. It was longer now than she had remembered, and it framed his handsome young face well when his hat was off. She sighed a little, knowing that the smaller Qiao had beaten her to him though, and she felt her smile fade slightly. Lu Xun only spoke after a long pause, "I...it wasn't that...I just wanted to...to..."

Shang Xiang blinked a few times when he moved one hand toward hers. He hesitantly intertwined the two's fingers and she blinked again before pulling away. Sheepishly, she handed him his hat. She was completely oblivious to his rather hurt expression. "Sorry about that," she said, thinking that he had just been reaching for his hat. "Could have just told me you want it back though," she added in. Shang Xiang felt her face warm a little and she tilted her head a little. "Continue?"

"It's not...what you think it is," he started, then let out a soft sigh.

::Sure it's not,:: Xiang thought to herself dryly, ::Does he suspect what I'm feeling? Is he feeling bad now?:: She had no idea what to say.

"I...oh, nevermind," Lu Xun finally stated when he got no response, moving to stand. "It's getting late. I don't wish to keep you up, Lady Sun. I will see you tomorrow if I can be graced by your presence?"

"Have you been around Zhou Yu?" she immediately blurted, a grin on her face. She shook her head. "I'll see you around, Xun." she waved him off, waiting for him to close the door behind himself before she clasped both hands together, trying to mimic the warmth she had felt when he had moved his hand to hers. ::I wonder what else he could have wanted to tell me,:: she thought to herself, feeling a sudden burst of curiousity. She sighed to herself, then moved to try and dry her hair so she could get some sleep. Her newest encounter with the young man had gotten her tired.

Being cheery when she didn't wish to be was always a problem for the young woman. Most of her friends she could express her anger at freely, but Lu Xun was slightly different. He was less experienced than the others, and she couldn't stand seeing him cower and look hurt when she yelled at him. He took her fits too seriously, and she had to struggle in order to convince him that she didn't mean to be annoyed at him many times. It was just easier to struggle inwardly though, than have to go through the process of trying to make her friend feel better. He was especially sweet when he was embarrassed and seeming hurt, but she hated to be the one to hurt him in the first place. Shang Xiang sighed, laying down on the bed. She knew she had no heart to confess what she felt to the young man in general, and now that she figured that he had an interest in Xiao which lay more than for just friends, her confession started to grow further and further distant.

"Oh well, Xiang," she said to herself quietly, "..it's not like he'd ever like a tomboy like me anyway."

---

Zhou Yu paused a little in front of Sun Shang Xiang's room, surprised when he heard her voice slightly muffled through the door. He paused, then raised an eyebrow faintly. He had a naturally curious side in himself as well, and he seemed almost ready to knock on the door to interrogate her, but he knew better than to do such things. The princess wasn't one who would be too willing to talk to Yu, he knew, and approaching her might make her think it was Sun Ce who had pestered him to speak with her. Zhou Yu knew how much that would be a pain to Ce.

He silently passed Xiang's room, then sighed to himself. The entire day he had not seen either Qiao sister. He had made up his mind to speak to the elder one, perhaps to gain knowledge of what was so wrong about him that made Xiao avoid him at times. Ce had beat him to speaking with Da though, and he gave up on thinking to speak on this day. Ce was possessive, Yu knew, and he didn't want to interrupt the two lovebird's meeting. Like the others, Zhou Yu was just waiting for the two's confessions to get on with, so they would just be happier and less cautious of the others. Still, knowing Ce the best, Yu knew that he would have to drop some pride in order to confess, and Ce was one of the most stubborn men Zhou Yu knew. It would take a while before Ce would be able to say anything about his feelings. Yu doubted that the elder Qiao would be sharing any supposed feelings aloud before Ce did, either. It wasn't natural for a woman to be the one asking for a relationship here, anyway.

Zhou Yu instinctively ran a hand through his long hair. He had had quite a few women bold enough to confess to him, though. And still a certain one who wasn't responding to his affections. Yu had tried several techniques, but none seemed to faze the younger Qiao sister, and he was almost about to lose hope. Still, this focus on one particular female was helping him concentrate more on important topics instead of worrying about various get-togethers with others. Some of the women he knew he slightly missed, but in his mind, the Qiao would be more than enough of satisfaction if he could get with her.

He was anything but tired at the time and so started toward the Qiao's rooms. He wasn't surprised to see that Da had gone out, probably to see Sun Ce. He knocked a few times on Xiao's room before he entered it hesitantly. He took a moment to look around before starting slowly toward the girl. She seemed to be fast asleep, and he knew it was more than rude to wake a woman in her sleep. Especially if she didn't know that he had come in in the first place. He knew he would be less than welcome if she knew, so stayed quiet as he approached her.

Xiao stirred only slightly, making him pause mid-step, then breath a soft sigh of relief when she didn't wake. Slowly, he made his way to her side, admiring her sleeping form. Her hair framed her face well, and the small sliver of the moon through the window made her glow like a glorious angel. Hesitantly, he reached over, brushing a strand of light brown hair from her face. She seemed to flinch, but he dismissed it as his imagination. The man blinked a few times, then noted that the girl's hair was put down for comfort while she slept, and she was cluching her pillow tightly with both arms. A small smile appeared on Zhou Yu's face, and when he lifted his gaze toward the mirror near him, he almost felt surprised. He had spent a few days before practicing his usual coy smile which always made the women swoon, but he hadn't smiled whole-heartedly for many a day. He lifted one hand to his lips, then shook his head.

In reality, he wasn't as tainted as he seemed. Sure, he had been with many women, but he had never done things with them that he would grow to regret. A hug and an occassional kiss was the most that the women were able to get out of the collected officer, and he expected nothing more. He recalled that he hadn't gotten either out of the Qiao's and a kiss was far from the ordinary if he was to recall the princess of Wu.

Yu recalled his meeting with Xiao a day before, then frowned. There must have been bad rumors going around, he concluded, to make the small Qiao sister seem frightened of him. He didn't mean to be imposing. Or at least, so he comforted himself.

His gaze lowered back to the sleeping girl and he shook the smile away, not wishing to betray his feelings as he stepped back outside of the room. Almost confused, he walked toward the direction of his room, his mind and gaze both distracted.

---

Xiao was quiet for a long moment after he was gone, then jolted up, glancing around suspiciously a few times before seeming relieved. Sure enough, she had been awake the entire time that Zhou Yu was in her room, and she felt a heavy shadow across her as he stayed looming above her. Out of one squinting eye she watched him as he gazed at himself in the mirror, making him seem so much more vain than he possibly could be.

Xiao Qiao sighed to herself. She had caught the genuine smile on the man's face, and suddenly he seemed that much better. Well, okay. So not much better, but he seemed more...normal.

She stretched, feeling tired again, but not wanting to let down her guard in case he thought to return. She hoped he didn't notice that she had been awake. The last thing she needed was some kind of chit-chat about it all. She smoothed down a little of her hair, then frowned, wondering what it was that had brought the man to her room. An involuntary shiver ran through her as one hand touched the area where he had brushed aside her hair, and she shook her head, not knowing if she should be annoyed or not.

She knew that he was interested in her, along with everyone else, but it was the first time that she had seen him in her room. She had never permitted it, and what right did he have entering without her permission anyway! She made a mental note about how she would tell her sister about it in the morning and have her "chat" with either Sun Ce or Zhou Yu himself about the incident.

Xiao frowned a little to herself, tugging a loose strand of hair. Yu had seemed much more attractive with the true smile on his face, the moonlight shining on his long dark hair and highlighting his face to make him seem like he was lit up from behind. Xiao giggled to herself, imagining the man with angel wings and a halo.

"He's just not my type," she tried to convince herself, wondering why the image of his smile didn't seem to fade from her mind. She sighed, then snuggled up in the bedsheets, shutting her eyes.

There it was again! She knew she wouldn't mind if he would consistantly look at her with such a gaze, almost loving and kind. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Wishiful thinking. Not even.

At least not from a womanizer like him. Xiao Qiao suspected he was more than a womanizer, with his closeness to a few other male Wu officers, in particular his best friend Sun Ce. She shrugged; she never understood why they were so close anyway. Ce was completely different from Yu. Da always made it known that it was so. She classifed Ce as somewhat more dramatic, strong and energetic. Yu was, on the other hand, calm and collected, with a sharp mind used greatly to the Sun family's advantage. Xiao couldn't help but be somewhat confused. It would be much better for Yu to get back together with the Wu princess, she knew, but instead of standing, he was thinking about her instead.

"Only 'cause I'm the only one who hasn't been drooling all over him," she said, making a face. She crawled over to look at herself in the mirror, grinning and trying to imitate the sly smile usually placed on Yu's face whenever he was near a friendly and beautiful woman. She adjusted her hair a little, then reached for a piece of cloth to place at her forehead, then giggled when she figured she did a rather good impression of the poor Wu officer.

---

Sun Ce had to look as though he hadn't hurried to see Da, but he couldn't help it. He had been waiting for the last two days to see the young woman, and he was more than satisfied when he spotted her waiting for him early as well, staring up toward the full moon lifted in the air. He took slow steps toward her, then waved, trying to be casual. The pigtailed figure turned toward him, then bowed instantly, her usual smile widening slightly to extend to her shining eyes. "Good evening, my lord," she said, polite as usual.

"It's Sun Ce," he reminded, shaking his head a little. He was trying his best to keep an eager grin off of his face. He could spend centuries looking down toward his dark-haired beauty, but he wanted it to be her who would be the last to know.

"Then Lord Sun Ce," Da Qiao commented, her eyes still sparkling. She was blushing, or maybe it was her makeup that highlighted her rosy cheeks above her pale skin. It was a wonder when he saw her true smile, breathtaking even to the older Sun member, and he scratched his head sheepishly.

"I thought I said you don't have to call me Lord," Ce said lazily, moving over to causually lean against the tree she was standing by. She scooted over politely, then sent him a small smile.

"You do know that it is impolite to call somebody such as yourself as any lesser than a Lord, my lord."

"Lady Da Qiao," Ce said, a teasing grin on his face which grew when she looked perturbed. He barely ever addressed her as anything but Da. "I command you to call me by something other than Lord."

Da's expression lit up slightly and she smiled again, making the trip to see her more than worthwhile for the man. "Hm. Then Officer Sun Ce." she paused, then shrugged, her eyes betraying her humor. "Is that alright instead, my Lord?"

"Sun Ce," he corrected, then stretched a little, glancing up toward the moon.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Da questioned, her voice soft. Her usually deeply feminine voice had betrayed her, returning to an almost childish tone. She blinked, then put a hand over her mouth, shaking her head and continuing, "It hasn't been a full moon for a while."

Sun Ce grinned to himself. It mattered not how feminine her voice was, and it always was a treat to be able to hear the more childish side of the young woman. She tried hard to be seen as an adult, he knew; much harder than her sister. Everyone believed her, but he knew better. It was almost like a secret between the two. An unspoken bond that kept the two connected.

He knew that it was because of him that she was trying extra hard to sound pleasing and more adult-like to the ear.

Sun Ce let out a small sigh, then finally responded to her question. "Yeah, it's pretty, but it's nothing like the sunrise."

"...I watched it yesterday," Da stated softly, "Because I thought perhaps you may be as well."

Ce raised an eyebrow, immediately glancing toward the young woman, whose gaze had instantly lowered. He could tell it wasn't the makeup making her cheeks rosy this time. "You though I was watching?" he asked, then shot her a grin. "Well, yeah, of course." He had to pause to think before he added in, his voice equally as quiet as hers now, "I was wondering if you were watching too, actually."

It seemed that Da was too embarrassed to respond, her gaze still lowered and her cheeks still red with warmth. Ce took an instinctive step forward when the young woman shivered, then shrugged. "Wanna go back inside?"

"Not yet," Da stated, speaking surprisingly quickly. She blinked, then slowed her words down as she repeated, "Not yet..."

Ce nodded a little, taking a moment to gaze back toward the moon. Its silver rays reminded him of someone; perhaps just the pale skin of the young woman before him. He paused, then blinked a few times. Her eyes were still focused on the ground, but he could tell she was pondering about something. Maybe it was on what to say. He scratched his head a little, knowing that he wasn't good at these things, but maybe he would have enough courage to ask today...

"You sure? You seem kinda cold." Ce gave the young woman a quick grin. "You can come closer if you wanna keep warm."

::Oh yeah, good move, Ce,:: the man thought immediately when she seemed confused. ::Now she's just going to run away...::

---

Da tilted her head in confusion. Did she just hear what she thought she did? The young woman stayed quiet for a while, then blinked a few times when he spoke again, this time his voice nervous.

"Ehh, if you don't want to it's okay..."

Da smiled to herself inwardly. There was his pride showing again. "It is alright, my lord," she said, taking a hesitant step toward him. "If you've changed your mind I can still content myself as is."

The elder Qiao felt somewhat worried. The two had been close, but they hadn't even hugged during their entire relationship. Still, she couldn't hide her smile when he shook his head and gestured for her to go slightly closer.

"Then, Lady Qiao," Ce said, his voice teasing, "You'd better content me with your warmth instead."

Da watched him pause for a moment, then scratch his head sheepishly, and she knew that those weren't the words that he had attempted to summon in his mouth. She pretended to seem hesitant. "...alright, my lord," she commented slowly. "If you so wish it."

The young woman truly hesitated when she moved closer to him, relaxing when he loosely put his arm around her. He was very warm, she had to admit, and she was getting somewhat chilled by the night air. His presence was more than welcoming. She had to struggle to keep her eyes open and relax at the same time.

"Any better, my lord?" she asked, trying to keep the enthusiasm from being betrayed in her voice.

"Much," was the quiet response.

Da Qiao looked up toward him, noticing his gaze was toward the full moon again. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes seemed longing, possibly for the freedom that could be acquired if they all had the time to gaze upon the sky whenever possible. She smiled to herself. He tried to seem stronger than he really was. She slowly shifted her gaze toward the moon as well, then seemed to sense his gaze upon herself, making her feel as though she should be cautious in every movement, every blink and breath that she took.

"I am glad," Da finally spoke. She knew it was a double meaning, one as a response to his response, and one to the situation she had found them in. Slowly, she leaned against his arm, letting him be her support as she looked up toward the sky again. He seemed hesitant, then moved her just a little closer by tightning his hold on her by his arm. Da smiled to herself, knowing their mutual consention. They both were quiet for a long time, and finally Da moved from his grasp, bowing politely and looking up toward him with a genuine smile. "It is about time for me to return to camp, my lord," she said softly. "I'm sure it would be a lovely idea for you to go and get some rest yourself." she bowed again, "I would not wish you to get journey sickness."

She thought she caught slight disappointment in his expression, and his voice gave it clearly away. "Uh...yeah. Sure." he paused, then shook his head, his more composed look filling his proud face. "I'll see you around then, Da."

The Qiao smiled, her serene look replacing her more enthusiastic one from earlier before. "Thank you for your time, my lord," she said before she turned from him, walking back in the direction of her room. She seemed somewhat confused to see Zhou Yu wandering away from their direction, but thought not to question. It was always easier that way.


	5. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

It was a couple of long days before the Wu officers had time for relaxation. Xiao Qiao was boredly practicing a few dance steps outside, scowling when she faltered in the middle of a step. She had told her sister about how she caught Zhou Yu in her room a few days before, but Da had only given her a small smile and shook her head, coaxing her to forget about it. "He didn't do anything dangerous to you, did he?" she had asked quietly.

Xiao had frowned a little, instinctively raising a hand to brush a strand of light hair from her face. "Well, not really _dangerous,_" she had admitted.

"Then there's nothing to be worried about, my sister."

Xiao frowned, then took a seat on the floor, clasping her hands together in her lap. Her sister was helping fix food at the time, and the girl couldn't help but feel extremely bored. Lu Xun was busy with Yu, she knew as much, laying out plans for any battle that might occur. The girl sighed to herself, then shut her eyes, moving up to lean against a tree trunk and resting against it. To her dismay, the image of Zhou Yu's smiling face lit up with the strand of moonlight returned to her mind, and she immediately shook her head, opening her eyes and rubbing at them harshly. "No no no no no no!"

"No no no what?"

Xiao took her hands from her eyes to see Sun Ce grinning at her as he took a few steps toward her direction. He seemed hesitant, but when she didn't react in dismay, he continued, stopping a few feet in front of her. The girl turned red in embarrassment. "Oh, uh, hi." she blurted out, feeling sheepish.

"Hey." Ce said, the grin not fading.

She felt somewhat nervous, looking up toward his dark eyes. The humor shone brightly from them, and she couldn't help but wonder how a man such as he had caught her sister's interest. Da seemed always so different from him. ::Oh well,:: she thought to herself with a shrug, ::Opposites attract maybe?::

Which brought to mind Yu again, and she could feel her face warm. It warmed further when the man let out a hearty laugh. "What are you thinking about huh, squirt?"

"S--squirt? Heeeeey, I'm no squirt!" Xiao exclaimed, her expression returning almost instantly to normal. She jumped to her feet and shook a fist at him, stopping when he burst out laughing.

"Yeah, suuuure you're not." Ce shook his head, then shrugged. "Let's see, you were thinking about Zhou Yu, weren't you?"

Xiao hesitated for a split second, then tried her best to read his expression. He seemed mostly humored, but beneath the initial look, it seemed he was being serious. "No," she started testily.

"Da told me that you caught him in your room at night, huh?" the wholeheartedly teasing expression returned to his face. "Did you two finally connect?"

Xiao had to struggle to keep her jaw from dropping. Since when did her sister tell Ce about it all? She had dismissed Sun Ce for being ignorant in the romantic scale as well, and he should have been the last to notice Zhou Yu's attempts at courting, right? Well, then again they were best friends so maybe...

She was about to open her mouth to deny, but was interrupted by a soft feminine voice calling the man to lunch. "Gotta go, sorry," Sun Ce said, scratching his head sheepishly. "I'll see you around, squirt."

"I SAAAAID I'm not a squirt!" Xiao exclaimed toward his retreating figure, then took a seat again, feeling somewhat confused and angry at the same time.

---

Zhou Yu ate quietly during lunch, being invited by Sun Jian to join the royal family's gathering. Jian was chatting heartily, while the others listened semi-attentively. Sometimes he had a tendency to talk too much about too unimportant issues. Yu knew as much, but he had at least tried to stay polite and respond whenever possible. Quan was trying his best to add him into the conversation, he knew, even more than Sun Ce, who seemed off in his own world. Yu watched amusedly as Sun Shang Xiang waved a hand in front of her brother's face. "Hello, is anyone home in there?"

Ce jumped, making his food jolt and his drink spill slightly. Jian stopped speaking for a moment to look concerned. "Are you alright, son?"

"I'm fine, Pops," Ce said quickly, shooting the people a grin before standing up. "Just not hungry. Excuse me, will ya?" with that, he walked out of the room.

Zhou Yu took this as a cue, standing up as well and placing his utensils down neatly before him. "I'm finished as well." he started, then paused when Shang Xiang shook her head.

She scooted toward him, then whispered, "I'll go after him." she made a move to stand, stopping only when Yu placed one hand to her shoulder.

"Do not worry." he said slowly, his eyes on Sun Jian's as he spoke in a whisper to Jian's daughter. "You can continue your meal."

Zhou Yu turned away, starting in the direction of his friend. He had seen the worry in Sun Jian's face, and he knew that it hadn't been the only day that Sun Ce had dismissed himself earlier. To his surprise, when he caught up to Sun Ce, the man was peering out of a window, a small smile on his face. He didn't seem to notice Yu, and Yu moved to get a glance toward the direction that his friend was looking at.

Out of the window, Zhou Yu could see the two Qiao sisters. Da seemed to be teaching her sister a fluid dance movement that he could recognize as one she had smoothly combined with her battle techniques. A small smile touched his lips as well, and he finally spoke. "Ce, do you always watch the two train?"

Sun Ce jumped again, then turned to him, his eyes somewhat widened. Yu's smile widened and he turned his gaze back to the Qiao sisters. Ce hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Well, not always. Just...whenever I get the chance."

"Your father seemed concerned about you, Ce. You shouldn't leave without telling him what you're planning on doing." Zhou Yu stated, his eyes following the younger Qiao as she tumbled to the floor not much so gracefully. Da was reaching over to help Xiao up, and Yu silently wondered when it would be when Xiao would finally pay enough attention to him to allow him the pleasure of seeing her smile directed toward him.

"Oh, yeah," Ce's voice said, interrupting his thoughts, "I'm just gonna say 'Hey Pops, I'm done eating 'cause I gotta go watch Da train, alright?'"

Zhou Yu lifted an eyebrow at his friend's sarcasm. "Ce," he started quietly, "Have you confessed to her yet?"

The man felt a surge of satisfaction run through him when Sun Ce turned toward him, his brown eyes semi-widened and trying to read his face. Yu knew it was impossible for Ce to; his expression never gave anything away when he didn't wish it to. Yet, he was innerly confused and felt somewhat guilty for the feeling of satisfaction when Ce responded with a quick shake of his head.

Ce leaned against the window slightly, letting Zhou Yu see more of his back than not as he spoke, his voice muffled. "I can't. ...you know me, Zhou Yu, so you know that I can't."

Zhou Yu paused for a moment, then sighed, taking a step forward and resting a hand on his friend's back. "Don't think about it so harshly, Ce." he said, trying to be comforting. "There's no rush."

---

Sun Shang Xiang had watched Zhou Yu leave quietly, then quickly excused herself as well, making the two other men rather uneasy. She had given them a quick grin and salute before leaving, but now that she was alone she wondered what the point was. She had spotted Ce and Yu in the hallway earlier on, but they seemed to be in a serious conversation, and, knowing how she would be unable to listen in without getting caught, she had just left the scene to sit in her room.

Everything was going complicated. Shang Xiang was one of the few people who knew what was going on with the other armies. There seemed to be some discussion about how Wu would meet with a few Shu officials sometime soon, and she couldn't help but feel unhappy. Troop movement was deemed slow; there seemed to be no arising problems which would involve the Wu camp for the moment. This obviously wasn't the complications.

Sun Ce was going to be sent to the other camp for a while in a few days. Ce himself didn't know, for Sun Jian was trying to keep it a secret from him. With Ce's help, Jian hoped that the other officers would gain enough strength and morale to help if there was to be another major upcoming battle. Shang Xiang knew how hard it would be for Ce to leave this camp again, especially after seeing how he was when he left for only one day. Sun Shang Xiang didn't know if she should feel guilty or not. She could tell him, but he had a large chance of growing angry at his father, and she didn't want family problems earlier than there needed to be. Then again, if she left it until the last moment...

She took in a deep breath, then sighed. She had thought about it for the last few days, and she knew she needed someone to talk to. Zhou Yu would have been the best listener, she knew, but since he was busy, she had passed him by and stayed shut in her room instead. The young woman paused for a moment, then grinned to herself, remembering that there was still someone who had the heart to listen, if Xiao was at least still training and not getting his attention instead.

To her confusion, Shang Xiang found herself hesitant to knock on the young strategist's door. Since Zhou Yu wasn't with him, she thought it was safe to talk, but there was some kind of aura she could feel from the room that didn't wish her entering. She paused, then huffed at it. She was the princess of Wu anyway, so no sixth sense was going to be enough to stop her. Slowly, she raised her hand up to knock, but before she could, the door opened, revealing a tired Lu Xun who looked anything but expecting company to be standing in front of his door. He was carrying a stack of papers, but as soon as he spotted her, he instantly dropped them, making both of them bend down to grab a handful.

"S--sorry," she started.

"I'm sorry," he added in.

The two quietly retrieved the papers, and Xiang handed her pile to him. "I guess you're busy," she said, unable to keep the disappointment from her voice. "I'll find someone else then."

She was all set to go when he shook his head. "I was going to deliver these papers to Lord Sun Jian, that was all. I'm not busy after that if you..."

Xiang tilted her head a little at his hesitant stop, then looked up toward him slowly. He looked almost as though he wanted to lower his hat enough to cover his face so she couldn't see him. "Here, I'll take these to dad for you." she said, moving to take the papers. "And then I'll come back. I want to talk to someone."

She knew that Lu Xun would know there was really no point in arguing, and he, as predicted, nodded his head and took a step back. "Alright..."

Xiang quietly eyed him for a moment before taking a step forward, hugging the papers with an arm and moving her free hand toward his hat. She dipped it down slightly to cover his eyes faintly, then waved. "I'll be right back. Leave the door open, okay?" she walked off, giggling to herself at his pitifully blushing figure.

---

Lu Xun watched as she rushed off, then turned back to enter his room, at the same time adjusting his hat. His cheeks still burned with warmth, and he sighed to himself, feeling hopeless. He barely ever saw the young woman, but every time that he did, he seemed to make a fool out of himself. He took one glance around, then put a hand over his forehead. The room was an utter mess, thanks to how much time he had spent writing future plans on papers, and the unusable ideas had been tossed around the room to leave space for the more important ones. He picked up a piece of paper, looked at it, then sighed. The last thing he needed was for the princess to know that he had days when he wasn't as perfectly neat as he seemed. Lady Sun was nice, but she had a tendency to be a blabbermouth almost equal to Xiao. Xun hurriedly piled the messy papers in a stack, pushing them off to a side of the room. He had just about gotten the last of the mess tidied up when Shang Xiang returned, looking surprisingly solemn. She gestured to the door, shrugged, then shut it. Xun put the piece of paper aside and moved a seat for the young woman to sit in.

"Listen carefully, Xun," she started before he had even gotten a chance to settle down. He hesitantly took a seat across from her. Her attitude seemed almost as though how he had seen her on the battlefield, her eyes ablaze and her expression collected and calculating. He felt himself tense slightly at her gaze. "I haven't told anyone else about this yet, okay?"

"Um, alright..." he couldn't help but wonder what it was that had caught this young woman's interest enough to be quiet about for once.

"You know the other camp?" she was saying, completely ignoring his words. "The other camp, where the other officers are?"

There she goes, he thought to himself almost grimly. When she was worked up, he knew she had a problem about going around situations before getting to the point. He was opposite her in this sense, and her delay was making things worse. He spoke softly, using his voice to calm her down. "What about the camp, Lady Sun?"

This only served to make the blaze in her eyes brighter. Her expression changed, this time to something close to disdain. "Don't talk to me like you talk to a kid, Xun," she said, then shook her head, sighing. She shut her eyes, and when she reopened them, the young man could see that they were normal again. "Sorry, sorry," she said sheepishly, "I'm just worked up. Sun Ce's going to the other camp to train the officers there in a few days."

"Lord Sun Ce?" Lu Xun blinked a few times, not knowing why this was affecting her so much. He knew that the two were close, but it wasn't a life-threatening experience for her to be away from him for a while. "He doesn't know yet. You know how close he is to Da.." she added in quietly, bringing the point home.

Lu Xun paused for a long moment, thinking hard about the situation. Everyone, well almost everyone knew how Sun Ce and Da were slowly forming a bigger and bigger relationship. Ce was too proud to confess, Xun thought to himself, and Da was too polite to even think of so. Still, they were about as much of a couple as could be already. If Ce was to be taken somewhere where his other half wouldn't be... Lu Xun didn't want to know what would happen. Ce had a fiery temper when provoked, and the last time Xun had seen him fight with his father it hadn't been pretty. He didn't know what to say, so stayed silent.

"So you know, I was thinking," Shang Xiang had started to continue, making him turn toward her. "Maybe I can convince dad that I should go instead."

This made him freeze in place. If Shang Xiang went, he wouldn't see her for a long time, he knew. They already had little time to spend together, but whatever little time they had spent, he had treasured. Unbeknowest to her, he thought to himself with a slow sigh.

"What do you think?" Xiang asked, an eager grin on her face. He lifted his gaze enough to see her face, then peered toward her eyes, somewhat cheery but dull toward the back. He could tell she didn't want to, but it was for her brother's sake. He admired her for the sacrifice she was willing to make, but at the same time wished she wouldn't do it.

Sun Shang Xiang blinked a few times, making him feel somewhat embarrassed. "Well," he said, his voice shaky, "I think you should do whatever makes you feel better."

Of course he didn't want her to go, but what gave him right to dictate his friend anyway? He lowered his gaze when she nodded.

"Yeah. I think I'll do that."

---

Da Qiao smiled to herself as she rested against a large tree trunk, watching as her sister attempted the moves that she had previously tried to teach her. Xiao was somewhat clumsy in her movements, but with this, she had been successfully able to confuse many opponents and gain victory anyway. Da was proud of her, and she wanted to show her, but every time she told Xiao that she was doing well, Xiao would shake her head and say that she was mocking her.

Da tried hard to avoid the window which had clear view of the two, knowing that some days she could see Sun Ce watching from afar. On these days she surprisingly did her best, not nervous like every other time. She was eager to please her lord, and every time she saw his smile, she knew she was doing her job correctly.

"I think that's enough for today, my little sister," Da said softly, bowing her head and taking her sister's fans from her tiny hands.

"Okay," Xiao said, her voice cheery. She always seemed more energized after training than during. "I'm going to get something to drink then. Wanna come with me, sis?"

"I think I will pass today," she responded, giving her sister a small smile. "I will be in my room if you need me later though."

"Oh well, alright..."

Da watched as Xiao skipped off, then paused to look toward the window. It was empty today, and she felt somewhat dejected. She could have sworn she had felt his presence around herself today, but she dismissed it casually as her imagination. She knew it wasn't every day that Sun Ce could leave lunch early to watch. She sighed to herself, knowing that past the day that they had shared a light hug in the moonlight they hadn't gotten a chance to be alone together. Ce was busy with his family, and Da with helping around the area, cooking and cleaning and training her little sister. Sometimes she wished she could switch places with Xiao, who was able to laze around all day and do whatever she wished most of the time.

Ce and herself had promised to meet every other day by the tree that Da was now underneath, but even that promise had been broken, the young woman met with a note of apology the day before. Ce had said he would meet her instead today, and she hoped that he didn't mean to send a similar note again.

Da Qiao was barely ever worried, but when she was it was obvious, her smile faint in her face and the twinkle in her eyes dulled when she spoke. She was distracted, and she kept her gaze lowered when at all possible. She hoped she wasn't sinking back down into such state and she shut her eyes, leaning against the tree gently. It wasn't until a light breeze tousled her hair that she opened her eyes, lifting her gaze to see Zhou Yu, who was standing and admiring the tree she was underneath. She bowed politely. "A good afternoon to you, my lord."

"The same to you, Lady Da." Yu stated, shifting his gaze to hers. She felt his eyes probe hers, but her serene look kept him from deciphering her expression.

"What brings you here, if I may ask?"

Da lifted her gaze back up to Yu's, knowing that any attempt to read his expression would be as futile as his attempt at hers. "Sun Ce wanted to make sure that you were planning on meeting him tonight, so I thought I would help him convey his message that he wouldn't say with his own mouth," Zhou Yu stated, his mouth curving up slightly.

Da Qiao nodded her head. "I expected to see him tonight unless there was another delay from his lordship."

Yu sighed, one hand rising to run through his long, thick hair. She watched him, his moves seeming almost planned out, overused but very nice nonetheless. "Then I'll remember to tell him that."

"Much appreciated, my lord."

Zhou Yu paused for a moment, enough to let onto his hesitant manner when he turned around abruptly. "I'll see you later, Lady Qiao."

Da Qiao watched his figure fade into the distance, then smiled to herself. More than likely, she decided, he was about to speak about her little sister, but at the end figured not to bother. It would seem almost lowly for him to have to ask someone for advice on how to win somebody over. He seemed always so charismatic, able to steal anyone's heart oh so quickly. The young woman shook her head, stepping away from the tree. She still had quite a few things left to do before she could meet with Sun Ce again.

---

Sun Ce lay quietly on his bed, both arms over his face. He knew it hadn't been a good idea to leave lunch so early, for he felt some kind of vibe that told him that there was something very important that his father was going to discuss, but he hadn't felt focused. After seeing Xiao in the morning, he had been reminded of Da Qiao, and how he hadn't had time to meet with her the night before. It wasn't due to some important meeting or anything. It was just that he didn't know what to do anymore.

He knew he would have to see her again today, so there was no point in delaying, but yesterday it had just seemed like a good idea. Ce sighed, then shook his head. It wasn't like him to be dwelling so long on something, but he knew he would have to think of an excuse. If he didn't, he would have to see the look of disappointment in Da's face that he would rather not.

The man sat up slowly, letting out a yawn. He didn't know he was tired until then, then remembered what had really happened the night before. He was already ready to send Da a note, telling her that he would see her the next day in order to give him enough time to think things out when one of the lower officers had informed him of a party they were holding in honor of one of his men. Without thinking, Ce had agreed to go with them to the party.

Sun Ce rolled his eyes. He had gotten back in bed early in the morning and when he was woken up he was anything but feeling lively. He tested out his voice slightly, then shook his head, standing to look at himself in the mirror. He didn't look any bit tired, he noted, and he grinned at himself, releasing the crimson red bow from his hair and letting it down. His hair fell slightly further than his shoulders, and he sighed, reminding himself never to let Zhou Yu dictate how to keep his hair. He looked down toward the ribbon, then back to his reflection.

Da Qiao had given him the ribbon a long time ago, as a present when his band had gotten cut during battle. She had given him her trademark smile, digging childishly into her pocket and finding only the red ribbon. "I'm sorry I cannot find anything else right now, my lord," she had said worriedly, "But I hope it will make do for the time."

Ce hadn't told anybody where he had gotten it, and he still didn't plan on it. With a sigh, he lazily tied his hair back in a low ponytail, stuffing the red ribbon into a pocket. Whenever he didn't have his hair high or in a bun, he kept the ribbon for safekeeping wherever he went. The man frowned faintly, knowing he wouldn't be able to keep anything from Da anyway; not when he finally saw her, so there was almost no point to try making up a reason.

He had really wanted to see her, but he had nothing to say; nothing to do. He didn't know whether she even wanted to see him after the few days before. Thinking too hard, he almost missed the knock on his door, which he lazily went to answer. It was Yu at the door, a sly smile on his face that showed some kind of progress.

"Now what's up?" Ce asked, trying to keep himself from shutting the door on his friend.

"You'd better be keeping your promise to Lady Da today," Zhou Yu stated, his voice humored. "She seemed eager to see you again."

Ce felt his face warm suddenly when Yu moved to elbow him. "Aw man," he said, moving away and trying to shake the blush aside. "Did you talk to her or something?"

"I was just clearing up your date tonight, that's all." Yu's eyes had a twinkle in them that Ce couldn't help but want to erase.

"I could have done that just fine myself, thank you," Ce started, feeling sheepish. He couldn't stay mad at his friend for too long, and soon enough he was grinning along with Zhou Yu. "And it's not a _date_, it's a _get together_, alright?"

"They classify as the same in my book, Ce," Yu stated simply. "You should confess to her soon. Then next time we could go on a double date, perhaps." Sun Ce raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?" he shot back, "Since when did you get to telling Xiao how you feel huh?"

Ce regretted the words only after they registered to Zhou Yu, whose smile faded ever so slightly, but enough to change his expression for a short while. He replaced it soon enough, then put a hand to his chin. "I"ll get around to it," he stated.

"Sure you will," Ce added in, then looked thoughtful. He knew he surprised Yu when he finally added, "I think I might tell her tonight."

Sun Ce watched Yu's face as Yu spoke, his expression betraying his confusion. "Ce," he started, his voice still passive, "Why, you've never been so agreeable in your life."

"Thanks a lot," Sun Ce said simply, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, I was just saying maybe. You don't want me to?"

The sly grin returned to Zhou Yu's face and the man stepped away. A twinkle was in his eyes as he said softly, "Of course not, my friend. You're going to make me jealous. ...and a few hours ago you were saying to me that you couldn't confess..." he shook his head, then ran a hand through his hair. "I'll be waiting for an update tomorrow morning, Ce," he added in, the grin not fading.

Sun Ce could almost sense Yu's feelings. "Sure, I'll let you know, don't worry."

As he watched his friend go, he knew that Yu really did feel almost jealous. His woman of affection wasn't responding to him half as well as Ce's was to himself. A small grin appeared on Ce's face. To Yu it was always a competition between the two. This time it would be who would win who's heart first.

Sun Ce's grin widened. This time, he was sure to win.


	6. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Zhou Yu brushed a long strand of hair from his face, a slightly irritable look crossing over his handsome face. He felt relieved at his friend's new take at his situation with the elder Qiao, but at the same time sensed a tinge of something inside of him, making him scowl as he started toward his room. The scowl grew quickly when he happened to wander by Lu Xun's room at the exact same time that Sun Shang Xiang was running out of it. They slammed into each other, sending Yu a few steps back and Shang Xiang onto the floor. She looked up toward him sheepishly, shooting him an almost nervous smile. Yu raised an eyebrow at her guilty seeming expression, then sighed, leaning down almost automatically to help her up.

"Sorry," she chirped, and he felt his expression change to show even her his confusion.

Zhou Yu paused for a moment to study her face. She blinked a few times at him, then tilted her head, and he could see a faint blush cross her face. "You should pay more attention to where you're going," he commented, unable to keep the edge from his voice. If she was surprised, she made no sign of it.

"Yep, I'll do that," she said, her voice almost hurried. Her expression was almost pleading for him to let her leave as she stood up, taking care to keep the majority of her weight still placed from him and upon her as she moved.

The man's scowl slowly faded, replaced with a small smile. "Are you happy or are you nervous?" he finally asked, his voice smooth.

Sun Shang Xiang's eyes blinked toward his, and when she widened them for a moment, he took time to gaze into them, trying to delve into her thoughts. She shook her head, then tried to cover her mood up with a quick smile.

"What are you talking about, Lord Zhou Yu?" she asked, her voice surprisingly teasing. "I'm happy. Is there something wrong with that?"

"I knew it," Zhou Yu stated, his smile turning coy, "You're nervous."

Shang Xiang seemed about to protest for a moment, then, almost to his surprise, her expression collapsed. She lowered her eyes, and the smile on her face completely faded. "No," her voice was quiet and he had to lean forward to hear her words. "I'm not nervous. ..I'm worried."

Yu felt his own smile fade at the silence that followed. His irritated mood quickly faded and he waited a moment before moving toward her and gesturing toward her room. "You seem like you want to talk."

Xiang shook her head. "I'm done talking," she started, but he placed one hand on her shoulder, sliding it to her back quickly and starting to escort her to her room.

Zhou Yu didn't know how to react toward the princess' sudden mood change, but he wasn't one to let on to such things. He sat and listened quietly as Shang Xiang related to him the information she had told Lu Xun, whilst leaving a few of the more minor details out. Yu could hear the slight waver in her voice when she said that she was willing to take Sun Ce's place in the other camp, if only her father would agree upon it. Still, he stayed silent, letting his eye contact show that he was truly paying attention to her. He watched her every movement, taking them apart piece by piece and analyzing as she spoke, calculating how she was feeling and what he should say in response.

When she was done, Shang Xiang lifted her gaze back up toward his prying ones, an expression on her face that Zhou Yu could hardly read. It almost seemed pleading; begging for some sort of advice that would surely make things work out. Sadly, Yu knew that he wouldn't have such a solution. He paused, then spoke softly, "Sun Ce doesn't know about it?"

"No," Sun Shang Xiang said, her voice uncharacteristically sad. She seemed to catch the note in her own voice, for as soon as she spoke, she shook her head and attempted a feeble smile.

"Let me speak with Lord Sun Jian about it," he finally said. She started to protest but he cut her off, shaking his head twice. "I will try and work something out. Please do not worry."

Xiang blinked a few times before her expression changed again, her eyes lighting up and a hopeful look crossing her face. Zhou Yu sighed inwardly knowing that soon enough the expression would be wiped aside. Someone had to go train the other officers, and Sun Ce would be the best trainer himself. He didn't doubt Sun Shang Xiang's abilities, but Shang Xiang was less trained for command than her brother. Zhou Yu bowed his head quickly, then attempted a small, friendly smile at the young woman.

---

Sun Shang Xiang could read it in his eyes. He seemed like he thought he was pulling off the act rather well, but she could see the idea plainly. Zhou Yu's small, plain smile at the end of his visit had been enough of a clue. His normally calm and expressionless eyes had seemed to become almost tired during the conversation, not because of fatigue, but because of something else. Something that she couldn't quite place, but he didn't seem fit with it. He was surely planning on talking to Sun Jian about having himself go in place of Sun Ce. Shang Xiang knew how her father may be more thrilled about having him go instead of herself, and if he went, she would feel a tremendous amount of guilt. She could sense it coming along already. At the same time, she wondered if she had been as obvious to read as he had. She had tried to keep an innocent expression, but worrying so much had cost her her acting abilities. She sighed a little, remembering the conversation she had held with Lu Xun earlier. He had seemed as if he had wanted to add something else before she left. He had even attempted to stop her at the doorway, but when she had turned back to question what it was, the young man had been blushing and turned away, saying that it was nothing of importance. Shang Xiang sighed to herself, then rolled over to her side on the bed she had been sitting on.

She had hoped that perhaps Lu Xun would have tried to prevent her going to the other camp. He had hesitated, but in the end seemed to agree with her statement, facing a way where she couldn't read the feelings in his eyes. They weren't so close, she had to admit, and she felt somewhat stupid for thinking that he would be the one to attempt to stop her.

"Keep dreaming, Shang Xiang," she scolded herself, a foolish grin spreading over her face. Everything seemed almost funny now, how she had somewhat hoped that he would stop her, but how he had encouraged her to do what she wished to do.

Never in his mind would he have considered that what she wanted to do was to be with him like her brother was with Da. Sun Shang Xiang rolled her eyes, then stood up, taking in a deep breath and then letting it out slowly. She thought hard about a good argument about letting her father allow her to switch places with Ce, trying to think of a way to make sure that Zhou Yu wouldn't have to take their place instead.

Anyway, if Yu was to go off to train the officers, Lu Xun would be stuck completely finishing the strategies alone, and she also didn't want such pressure put on her friends. Shang Xiang sighed to herself, then shook her head. She knew it was a bad idea to talk to Zhou Yu about it too. She just hoped that he wouldn't end up blurting out what was to happen to Sun Ce. She sighed. Who was she trying to kid? Yu had a high sense of honor, and if she said not to speak about it, she knew she could trust him to keep such ideas. Xiang yawned to herself after a moment, then stood, getting ready to go to sleep. She had had enough of thinking for the day, and she knew she needed to rest.

---

Lu Xun stepped out of his room a few moments after Sun Shang Xiang had left it, finally gathering the courage to speak to her about how he really _had_ opposed her decision, but respected it at the same time. The only problem was that when he had gone to check up on her, he spotted her speaking with Zhou Yu, who was escorting her into her room and then entering with her. There wasn't much of a problem with that, because Xun knew that the two were semi-friends, their link being Sun Ce. Still, he had noticed Yu's hand placed so familiarly on Shang Xiang's back, making him feel somewhat angry at first and then dejected.

If Zhou Yu had an interest in the Wu princess, Xun knew that Yu would have much better chance of courting her. He was the most popular man he knew, and in looks and even brains, he knew he couldn't compete with the older man. A soft sigh escaped his lips, and he almost jumped when he heard a soft skipping sound of footsteps down the his surprise, it was Xiao Qiao, walking hurriedly. She stopped when she spotted him, and he saw a huge grin appear on her childish face.

"Lu Xun!" she exclaimed, rushing over to her friend. She seemed overly enthused about seeing him, and he knew he seemed the same when he felt a faint tingle of relief flow through him when he spotted her.

A smile found its way quickly to his face, and he bowed his head slightly. "I haven't seen you for a few days," he said softly.

"Yeah, I know," the bubbly Qiao sister said, making a face. "It's not fair how they're making you work so much so you can't talk to me."

Lu Xun simply shrugged, not bothering to explain how important his role was for the Wu. He already knew her response would be an instant change of topic, not wanting to talk about battle and what could happen in the future. Xiao was blinking large eyes toward him when he glanced down at her, and he felt his face warm slightly. "I--is there something on my face?"

Xiao Qiao giggled, then shook her head. "No, but you look different."

"Do I?" he asked sheepishly, inwardly thinking how he felt different as well. He'd never been jealous of the other men who approached Shang Xiang, but at the same time knew that they were lesser officers and they would not produce any sort of threat to himself. He was wondering if he should stay and wait for Yu to leave her room to talk to Xiang of if he should have just gone back to his room and written. Whenever he was nervous or excited or annoyed or embarrassed, he always wrote. He sighed to himself. He was constantly writing and barely any of his work was ever used in their strategic assignments. Zhou Yu was brilliant, he knew, and as he thought, he almost forgot about Xiao as he turned around to start toward his room.

"Lu Xun?" the girl called out, making him pause in his footsteps sheepishly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said, "I was just lost in my own thoughts, I guess."

"I could see that myself," she pointed out, the grin reappearing on her face. Lu Xun watched her expression for only a little while. He had seen most of her mood changes throughout his friendship with the Qiao, and he had seen her grin more than half of the time. "Wanna talk?" she asked, and he paused for a moment, seeming to consider it.

"I don't need to," he started, and she shook her head.

"I want to."

---

Xiao Qiao followed the young strategist to his room, plopping down on his bed and swinging her legs off of the side. He looked nervous, even more so than usual, and his face held a blush that she always saw when she mentioned Sun Shang Xiang near his presence. She cherished her friendship with Lu Xun, but he was so busy and she knew that if he started seeing the princess, their time together would be cut even shorter. Still, she wholeheartedly supported her friend. She clasped her hands together and beamed. "So," she said, "What's going on that's making you all red, huh?"

She watched as the warmth on Lu Xun's face deepen and she didn't know whether she should feel worried or to be humored. She was too busy debating on that that she missed half of what Xun had said. She caught the words, "--and I don't know what to do," and then put both hands in the air, almost as if she was surrendering.

"Hold on," she said, feeling sheepish, "Repeat?" she sent him a quick smile, hoping that he wouldn't be mad at her inattentiveness.

Lu Xun let out a soft sigh, then shut both of his eyes, taking in a deep breath before restarting. "Sun Shang Xiang might be going to the other camp to train a few of their men," he said, his voice slightly shaky. She wondered it if was because of how he felt or how he was just annoyed at having to repeat himself. Something in his eyes told her that he was still hiding part of the story.

"And you don't know what to do?" Xiao finished, tilting her head and allowing her ponytail to shift enough that she pushed it aside.

"I don't know what to do," he admitted. "I was going to tell her not to go, but it's her decision, and..."

The younger Qiao sister watched him struggle with words, which was completely new for him. She knew he was easily embarrassed and could be shy, but when he was to talk, his mind worked quickly and he could speak his thoughts upon the blink of an eye. He seemed overly nervous, and she attributed the pause for this factor perhaps, but she couldn't help but feel worried. "So you were going there to say how you didn't want her to go?"

"I don't know what I was doing..."

Xiao knew that there had to be something wrong now. She paused, then shot him a grin. "I know," she said, "You wanted to get together with Sun Shang, right?" she took his blush as a positive response. "Then I'll talk to Sun Jian. Maybe he'll let me go instead."

Lu Xun blinked a few times, then shook his head. "He wouldn't," he started, to which she narrowed her eyes slightly, trying to look angry. "You think I can't do as well as her?"

Xun paused before letting out a soft sigh. "It's alright," he tried, seeming genuinely worried, "I don't want to trouble you because of it." Xiao shot him a grin, giggling a little. It would be the perfect opportunity! Not only would she get to command more troop than she usually did, she would be away from Zhou Yu, whose smile still haunted her while she slept. She paused to herself, then wondered why she was suddenly happy about the idea of being away from Yu. Recently, she had even gone far enough to wish that he would smile the same smile toward her, whilst she was still awake and not laying down--

--as he watched her "sleep" when she didn't invite him in!

Xiao scowled inwardly, then seeing Xun's confused expression, noticed she was scowling fully. She immediately put on an angelic smile, then hopped off of the bed. "If that's all, Lu Xun," she said, "I think I'll talk to him tomorrow or something."

---

Sun Ce's expression seemed perturbed as he watched it in the mirror before him. He combed his hair a few times to take an annoying tangle out, and then had replaced the ponytail with his ribbon again. Every time he touched it, he felt as though he could feel Da instead, and the faint scent of flowers tickled his nose and reminded him of her perfume. He put a hand to his forehead before he started to step out of his room. "You're hopeless, Ce," he commented to himself with a sigh.

It was getting late in the day, and the sky was slowly darkening. People made way for the darkness to envelop them, and soon enough, the providing light was mainly artificial, spare for the bright moon which shined as brilliantly as a tiara for the sky to wear. Ce took only a few moments to admire it before he shifted his gaze to his own shining angel who had taken her usual spot underneath the tree. He paused for a moment before hurrying toward her, taking caution not to look too eager.

Slowly, Da Qiao's eyes raised toward him, and she gave a bow to him, straightening up and sending him a small smile. "I received your note yesterday," she said softly, shifting her gaze up toward the sky for a moment before glancing back toward him. "You must be very busy."

Ce felt a quick stab of guilt run through his body, but he easily hid it. "Uh, yeah. Sorry...about that." he shot her a quick grin, seeming to settle her confusion for the time being.

The young woman began to play with the end of one pigtail, her eyes still up toward the sky. "If it is too much trouble to meet here so many times a week, please let me know, my lord."

Ce blinked a few times, then scanned her face. Her expression seemed almost wistful, longing to be up with the stars and be able to dance alongside of the moon. She had it all wrong, he knew. She thought that he was too busy to see her. He was busy, he had to admit, but he would take any time in the world in order to stay with her for a couple of moments more. He hesitated before speaking, "Hey, it's not any trouble, okay?"

Da Qiao's eyes immediately went toward his, going slightly widened. He blinked, then noticed that his voice was surprisingly warm, not the usual kidding and stubborn Ce that he usually sounded like. He sent her a quick smile, not a grin, and she seemed to recover slowly, bowing her head a little. He watched her pigtails bob and the smile widened faintly. He had told Zhou Yu what he would do this day, and he didn't want to back out of it.

Still, even for Ce, nervousness seemed to grasp him. What if she said she didn't like him? What if she was only meeting him at nighttime to see the stars because she felt obliged? He was the ruler's son, and if she made him mad, she might think she could get into deep trouble.

The more he thought about this, the worse his resolve for his confession grew. Or rather, it was waning as he debated. He still had plenty of time to talk to the young woman, so he could always leave it for another day... "Is there something wrong, my lord?" Da's voice broke into his thoughts, making him almost jump. He shook his head sheepishly.

"No, uh, nah, I'm fine."

::Good one, Ce,:: he told himself as he inwardly kicked himself.

"Are you sure?"

He instinctively took a step back when she stepped toward him, her pink and purple clothes shimmering and accenting her lovely face. When she stepped forward again, he willed himself to stop, allowing her to examine his face. He could feel her deep eyes trying to read his expression, and the grin from his face slowly fell off. She stepped forward, then stood on her tiptoes in order to place a hand on his forehead. She put the other on her own. "You don't have a fever," she pointed out, then suddenly stepped away from him, her cheeks turning rosy. "I--I...excuse me, my lord. It was an automatic reaction."

The grin returned to Sun Ce's face. "I know," he said simply. "I heard how good of a nurse you are," he added in testily, which made her blush further.

"Oh, no, you must be mistaken, my lord. I know barely anything about such techniques. I simply enjoy helping people, and if they need assistance, I--"

He barely listened to her, too busy thinking that it was now or never. Without paying attention, he finally blurted the words out, between her speaking.

"I love you."

---

Da Qiao hesitated for a moment. She heard the words spoken softly, in the back of her head and on his lips, but she couldn't decipher if it was real. She had wished she had heard them many a time ago, but had given up all such hopes when they continued to meet at night and all they would do was stare up toward the sky and talk like they normally would. Friendly, idle chat. Nothing further ever seemed to spark from him.

She knew her face was expressing her confusion plainly as his own shifted to mimic hers. "My lord?" she finally ended up asking, hoping that he would repeat the words and verify what she had thought he had said.

"It's Sun Ce," he said simply. She attempted to read his expression, but it was almost blank now, as if the phrase he had uttered had taken away all the strength that he had had for the day.

She didn't know what to say. She could politely ask him to repeat it, but knowing him he would be reluctant, and she could dismiss the words as the wind, but if they were true he might be hurt. She formed her words quietly, a look of worry crossing her face. "I am sorry," she said quietly, "But I think I missed your words before such..."

She knew she had taken the wrong route when Ce's expression betrayed his thoughts, shifting from worry to almost embarrassment. She thought she saw a light blush flicker through his face, but it disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared, making her pause and blink a few times. She watched quietly for a moment, then felt relieved when he shook his head, his expression settling on sheepish.

"Oh, yeah?" Ce asked, "Well, uh, it's not too important, so don't worry about it, okay?"

"Alright," Da said, and even she could tell that she sounded dejected. She lifted her gaze to the sky for a long moment, then quietly took a few steps toward him. "Look at that star, my lord," she said, gesturing toward one. "It shines brighter than all of the rest."

Sun Ce glanced up toward it as well, his mouth opening slightly in awe. He whistled, then shot her a grin. "You're right," he said, sounding almost obliged.

The young woman fell silent for another moment before adding in, "It almost reminds me of you, my lord," she said softly.

"Of me?" Ce's gaze was upon her now, and she sent him a smile, a full one which touched the tips of her face gently.

She nodded, moving away from him only slightly. "You outshine all of the other men in Wu in my mind, my lord." Before he could respond, she added in, "It is getting late already. We shall meet again soon, my lord?" She had already turned away from Ce, but she could almost see his expression with his voice.

"Yeah. Soon."

Da Qiao smiled faintly to herself. "Soon, then, my lord." she said, taking a few steps from him. She hated to be rude, but it truly was getting late, and she had to wake early to help the others in the morning. Slowly, though, she turned to look toward him.

By this time, he was already walking away, sending her a half-hearted wave before fading off into the distance.

Da's smile stayed on her face as she watched him disappear. Slowly, she raised one hand to her heart, then let out a deep breath that she didn't know she was holding in.

::I love you too, my lord.::


	7. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The next day, Xiao Qiao jumped out of her bed, letting out a loud yawn before getting ready to dress and speak to the Sun leader. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and watched herself in the mirror for a while before she decided she was done, exiting her room to go ask for permission to speak with Jian. To her surprise, Da Qiao was standing outside of her room, looking wide-awake and happy.

"Hi, sis," Xiao started, "What's up?"

Da turned toward her little sister and gave her one of her trademark smiles. Xiao wondered why she was awake so early, but knowing her sister, she dismissed it as her being used to it. "You're up early, my little sister," she said. She peered past Xiao and into the room, shaking her head. "I will make your bed today. You must be off somewhere in a hurry."

Xiao giggled a little, scratching her head, "Is it really that obvious? I'm gonna go and talk with Lord Sun Jian about something."

"Something?" Da asked, one eyebrow raised slightly.

Xiao couldn't help but fidget under her sister's gaze. "Well, um, yeah. Something." She didn't feel comfortable with keeping secrets from Da, but she knew that this time she would have to. She nervously took a step away. "I'll, um, talk to you about it later, okay? I'll see you later, Sis!" with that, she rushed away, hoping that Da wouldn't be too suspicious.

To her surprise, when she arrived to ask a messenger if Sun Jian had the time to speak with her, she spotted Zhou Yu heading outside of Jian's room, a thoughtful expression placed on his face. She paused to watch it, noticing he was too deep in thought to notice her. She started toward the messenger, quickly asking if Jian was busy, which he was, for he was meeting with somebody else, but if it were before lunchtime and wasn't too long, she might be allowed in.

Xiao took a seat on the floor, watching as Yu continued on his way. He was walking closer to her direction now, and she hesitated, keeping her eyes on him. His eyes were wandering with his mind, and even when she thought she had gotten caught, he made no advances. She frowned to herself. ::He must really be thinking hard,:: she thought to herself.

The younger Qiao watched him finally stop close by her, but still without noticing. Shifting her eyes around the room, she found there was now nobody around, spare for the bored looking messenger, who looked about to fall asleep anytime and of course Zhou Yu himself.

She had a feeling that he saw nothing of the room at the time, too busy contemplating on whatever it was that he was absorbed in. She folded her arms after a while, trying to look anywhere but toward him, but every time she willed herself to look away, her gaze would betray her and she would keep looking at Yu. Yu's head was bowed down slightly now, but she could still see his face, seeming worried and surprisingly indecisive.

Finally, curiosity overcome her and she stood up, brushing herself off and taking a few steps in his direction. She was surprised to note that when she stood even right next to him, he gave no notice, too busy in his thoughts to even think of looking up to figure what the noise was about. "Lord Zhou Yu?" Xiao tried, keeping her voice quiet. It was too quiet that time, and it didn't even seem to faze him as he thought, lifting one hand to his forehead and letting out a sigh. It seemed like he was in his own world. She took a deep, shaky breath, then started again. "Lord Zhou Yu?" Again, it didn't work. Xiao Qiao felt herself getting slightly annoyed and wished that she had thought to bring one of her fans so she could hit him on the head with it. She tried another technique this time. She finally started in front of hiim, leaning down to look at him and then said rather loudly, "Lord Zhou Yu AreYouListeningToMe?!"

That seemed to do the trick. Zhou Yu's gaze lifted toward hers, and she suddenly felt her heart skip a beat. The usually expressionless eyes revealed his soul for a split second, welcoming, then shut again.

"...I apologize, Lady Xiao," Yu said slowly, emphasizing each word with a cautious grace. "I was in the middle of thinking. Have you been here long?"

---

Da Qiao slowly fixed up her little sister's bedsheets, humming to herself quietly. She was somewhat happier than usual that day, which made her chores seem less like work and made the time pass by quickly. She wondered if it was the night before which had made her happy, then shook her head. Sun Ce had never mentioned if what she thought his words were were true, and she was still debating upon asking about it. He might become angry if she asked, and she didn't wish that to happen.

Da sighed to herself, then finished the bed, placing the green pillow on it. The smile on her face didn't fade, and she took only a moment to glance into the mirror to see it. It faded for a moment as she reminded herself not to look so antagonizingly cheery when there was still many a thing to do.

Da Qiao made her way out of Xiao's room and finally started toward the kitchen, where she knew her help would be needed soon. She helped with cooking as much as possible, for she liked to do it, and she enjoyed pleasing the officers with her fine food. She always felt immensely proud after people complimented her cooking. After cooking, she would train for a few hours or so, then finish up the rest of the chores and get ready for bed. Every day seemed the same to her, but she didn't mind it. There was nothing wrong with a fixed schedule for her, and anyway, it kept the order that she enjoyed alive.

The elder Qiao started to hum herself to the kitchen, barely noticing when Sun Shang Xiang turned the corner and almost slammed into her. Da shook her head, clearing her thoughts, then gave her friend a quick smile. "Good morning, Lady Sun."

"Morning," Shang Xiang said, returning the smile equally as fast.

Da could tell the other young woman's gaze was cloudy, and she wondered what was wrong with everyone this morning. Xiao seemed overly nervous, and now Lady Sun seemed almost guilty. She finally thought to question it. "Is there something wrong?"

"No." the response came quickly. Almost a little _too_ quickly. Shang Xiang sent another smile toward Da. "I'm going to see my brother, that's all." Da couldn't help but feel confused. She knew that Shang Xiang always got along with her brother, and they didn't seem like they had gotten into a fight lately. If this was so, then why did her friend look so nervous? Sun Shang Xiang shook her head.

"I'll see you around, okay?"

"Okay, Lady Sun," Da said, unable to keep the confusion from her voice. She watched as the Wu princess rushed off, leaving her wondering what was going on. Her happy mood faded just for a moment, until she reminded herself that there were things to be doing. The more she enjoyed what she was doing, the quicker time would pass, and the quicker time passed, the sooner she was about to see her lord again.

Da Qiao sighed to herself, then went back to humming toward the kitchen and trying to forget what seemed to ail her sister and her friend.

---

Sun Shang Xiang breathed a sigh of relief as she rushed from Da. She knew how well the older Qiao was at guessing what was wrong with people, and the raised eyebrow from the other young woman was enough to show Da had noticed something wrong with herself. Xiang shook her head. Hopefully she had been able to rush off before Da could come to a conclusion.

She had spoken with Sun Jian, who had, after a long time of argument, granted her to take his spot to train the officers. Still, there was just a little problem. Jian said that he still wanted Sun Ce to go for at least a month prior to herself. A month didn't seem like long, but she knew the patience level of her brother, and Ce would still be reluctant to have to leave their camp for a full month. Jian had sent her off to speak to Ce about it, and this was one thing she was not happy to do.

She stopped in front of Ce's room, hesitant before knocking twice. Her brother answered the door rather quickly, yawning before waving at her. "Mornin'." he said, sounding lazy.

"Yeah, good morning, sleepyhead." Shang Xiang grinned a little. Even if it was that she had to talk about such a serious issue, she was glad she had a moment to spend with her brother. They had had little time to chat nowadays.

"Got something to say, little sis?" Ce motioned for her to enter, and he shut the door after her, running his hand down the red ribbon in his hair. Sun Shang Xiang wondered where he had gotten the item, but she knew he treasured it well. Whenever he was worried or nervous or any such emotion overcame him, she could see him slide his hand down the ribbon and almost calm down. Almost.

"Actually, I do," Xiang said, her voice signalling that she was serious. She took a seat on her brother's bed. "You should sit down too," she added in, "I don't want you collapsing after I talk to you."

Sun Ce's expression remained the same as he pulled up a seat for himself across for her. His intent gaze followed her every movement with a small grin remaining on his face. "Going serious huh, Shang Xiang. What's up?"

"Dad wants someone to train the officers from the other camp," she started, hesitantly trying to enter the topic. "So they'll be ready to fight with us if there's something to happen."

"They're strong enough," Ce said with a shrug. "But, oh well. So who's going?"

"That's the thing," Sun Shang Xiang sighed. "I volunteered..but he wants you to go for the first month."

Sun Ce's expression stayed unreadable, but his gaze lowered for a moment. He stayed silent, and Shang Xiang had nothing further to say at the time being, worried about what he might do.

To her surprise, he spoke quietly, "So Pop wants me to go for the first month to train them?"

"Mm-hmm," she said, her voice hesitant. "After that, I'll take over and you can come back here."

Sun Ce took in a deep breath, then let it out. "You knew about it before, didn't you?" Surprisingly, his voice came out strong, the grin fading from his face and showing the more serious side of Ce. "You tried...to get me out of it."

"Sun Ce," Sun Shang Xiang attempted, moving forward to take her brother's hand. "I'm sorry.."

To her surprise, he glanced up toward her, the serious expression fading for a moment. "Hey. Don't worry about it. What's a month to me anyway? Heck, I'll take over the entire mission. I know you want to stay here. You'll get together with Zhou Yu by then."

Sun Shang Xiang couldn't help her jaw from dropping. She immediately shook her head. "I'm not interested in Zhou Yu! How many times do I have to say that?"

"Suuuure you're not," he said, his grin widening.

Xiang released his hand and hit him once on the head lightly. "I'm not," she said, feeling her face warm in irritation. "I can't be interested in him, there's somebody else that I--" she trailed off, hoping that Ce wouldn't catch her mistake.

He did. He put one hand under his chin, stroking his goatee a little. "Oh, really. So there's somebody else now, is there? Maybe I should tell Zhou Yu. He might get jealous."

Sun Shang Xiang shook her head, then stood up. "Okay, I'm done reporting to you. I'm leaving." with that, she rushed for the door, unable to hide a smile from her face as well. It had been a while since they had teased each other as well, and it reminded her of the good times back when she didn't have to worry about other concerns.

---

Sun Ce waited for his sister to leave before he breathed a slow sigh. It wasn't unlike his father to think of decisions on whim like this, and he couldn't help but feel the same annoyance that he felt every time Jian had planned something before questioning his children. However rebellious Ce seemed though, after argument, he still listened obediently to his father, and he knew he was stuck. "A whole month, huh?" he said aloud, then made a face.

The prospect of training meant that he could fight, but not wholeheartedly, which was a drag. Plus, the idea of being away from a certain Qiao beauty was going to make it that much more of a pain. Sun Ce made a face, then sighed again, wondering if it would be better to speak to Da about his leave early or to surprise her with it.

He didn't want to seem like he was worrying. He slowly decided to leave it for what fate would bring him. Slowly, Sun Ce stepped out of his room, hesitantly looking around once, then starting into the hallway. "Good afternoon," a quite familiar voice spoke softly from behind him once he entered, and it took all of his control for him not to jump.

He lazily gave Lu Xun a grin, then shrugged. "Yeah, good afternoon to you too," he said simply.

Lu Xun blinked a few times, then seemed to pause, examining his face carefully. Feeling somewhat uncomfortable under his scrutiny, Ce turned aside. "So, what's up?" he asked, wondering in his mind if he should try and provide small talk or just dismiss himself.

"Nothing too much, Lord Sun Ce," Xun said politely. "Gan Ning and I were planning on training in a few minutes, if you'd like to join us."

Sun Ce raised an eyebrow. Usually he trained with Zhou Yu, and the others barely ever invited him to train with them unless he nosily went and found them whilest their training session. Lu Xun seemed to catch his hesitation, and quickly added in, "If you are busy, there isn't a problem..."

"Sounds good," Ce said with a quick shrug. Knowing Xun, Ce could figure that the other man knew about Sun Jian's plans far quicker than Ce himself had. Maybe he was trying to cheer him up. Still, training sounded good for Sun Ce, who needed to get some of his stress out.

The two made their ways to their designated training ground, or rather, to Gan Ning's. Sun Ce never trained in the training ground, for he enjoyed the big tree where the Qiao sisters did their daily dance routines and where he watched the older girl train the younger after lunch. Ce eyed the area almost suspiciously, then picked up a training sword. Both Lu Xun and Gan Ning looked surprised, and he shrugged. "What?" he asked, "Something wrong with me holding a sword?"

He watched in amusement as the two men both shook their heads simultaneously. Ce raised the training sword up in the air for a moment before shrugging. "So, who's first?"

Sun Ce wasn't in the least bit surprised when the two other men decided to let him spar first, and Gan Ning stood up to face him. Ce knew both Gan Ning's strength and speed, and he knew as long as he kept par with Ning's swings, he would have no problems. Gan Ning seemed somewhat reluctant to train against Ce when Ce didn't have his tonfas, but Sun Ce easily grinned and gestured him forward. Just as he knew, Ning's quick temper finally allowed the two to begin.

---

Lu Xun watched intently at the two fighters. He had personally never seen Sun Ce hold a sword, not to mention fight with one. After his glance toward Gan Ning, he could tell the former pirate felt the same way. At first Ning seemed to be ready to take it easy on the Wu prince, but once he figured that Ce was almost equally as strong with a sword as he was with the tonfas, Ning seemed to loosen up.

Xun knew he shouldn't be surprised, for there was nothing wrong with Sun Ce's knowledge of the sword. Even without complete use of it, he had watched plenty of people's techniques, and although Sun Ce wasn't the brightest at strategy or such, he was quick to memorize anything relavant to fighting. Xun could almost bet that whatever weapon he handed to Ce, the other man could use rather proficiently.

Gan Ning seemed to find an opening in Ce's swing, and immediately dashed forward to attack, but Sun Ce was faster. He recovered, then parried the counter, flipping over and landing behind Ning with a triumphant grin. Lu Xun noted to himself how Ce's rather caged expression had changed fluidly with his training. When he first spotted Sun Ce in the hallway, he couldn't help but call out toward him. Ce and he weren't the best of friends, but being an acquaintance, and more importantly, Sun Jian's son, he felt obliged to speak with him when at all possible. Not only was he Sun Jian's son, he thought sheepishly, but he was also Sun Shang Xiang's brother. Lu Xun had no trouble reading Sun Ce, even though his back was to him. He seemed more tense than usual, and his body positioning seemed somewhat abnormal. Xun hoped that training would at least help loosen the man's muscles and let him relax just a little bit.

"I'm done!" Gan Ning finally exclaimed, wiping his forehead with one arm and dropping his sword.

"Already? I haven't even broken a sweat!" Sun Ce exclaimed, giving Ning a grin which the latter returned heartily.

"Beat him up, Lu Xun," Gan Ning stated as he went to take a seat, stretching a little and taking deep breaths.

Lu Xun stood, somewhat sheepishly. He always worried about how it was royalty that he was training with, but he knew he shouldn't feel so. The more revered Ce felt he was, the more annoyed he could get. Xun took up his training sabers, then bowed his head a little. As quick as a flash, the two began, Ce immediately taking the offensive. Xun's eyes narrowed slightly, watching the sword's movements carefully and taking time to analyze Ce's style. It was confusing, even for Xun, because Sun Ce's sword arts were nothing like the others. His was a conglomeration of the best of techniques, not as strong as original users, but dangerous nonetheless. Lu Xun felt rather relieved that he even recognized a few. He blocked on of Ce's movements, then smiled faintly. "Where did you learn this from?" he asked, his voice surprisingly cheery.

"Ah, taught it myself," Ce said, not stopping his assault, "I got bored one day, that's all."

Lu Xun raised one saber to block his next attack, slipping to the side of Ce with a graceful flip. "Very nice," he commented.

Lu Xun admired Sun Ce's skills rather often. Ce was a strong fighter, able to withstand a lot of blows without falling, and also able to command well and lift morale. It wasn't a surprise that Jian would send that son out to train the others instead of Quan. Sun Quan was an average fighter, with simple sword techniques similar to his father's. He didn't stand out half as much as his older brother. Even Sun Shang Xiang seemed to be above him in technique...

The young man zoned for a split second in remembrance of the name, then snapped back, remembering not to be thinking of other things when training. Sun Ce had his sword an inch from Xun's face, a triumphant look on his face. "Ah, too easy."

It took a few more tries before Sun Ce finally seemed to grow somewhat tired, scratching his head and dropping his training sword. "I'm gonna go look for Zhou Yu," he announced. "Thanks for training, guys," he added in with his trademark grin.

Lu Xun watched the man go, then shook his head slightly. He knew part of Sun Ce's personality had gone straight into his sister's, and he didn't know if he should feel grateful or not.

---

Zhou Yu had been more than surprised to be jolted out of his thoughts by the younger Qiao sister. Her eyes were slightly wide, gazing straight into his for a moment, and he had to shake his head before he could look into them without worries of any thoughts flowing through to her mind.

"You okay?" Xiao asked, looking anything but sincere. He didn't mind so much, for still, she was taking the time to formulate the question and ask it, even if she didn't care.

Yu slid a hand through his hair instinctively, then nodded, attempting a small smile. He knew it failed when a small frown touched her face. He had an urge to lift one hand to her mouth and raise the corners of her lips, ever so slightly, so that the frown would disappear. He did nothing of that sort though, and instead continued to sit quietly on the floor.

He had asked Sun Jian earlier if he would be able to take Shang Xiang's place for training. Xiang had seemed reluctant, and Yu felt somewhat bad for her. Normally, he would have left things be, but Sun Shang Xiang's earlier expression had been enough for him to at least attempt to save her the trouble of leaving the area. Zhou Yu had gotten along quite well with the Wu princess, but they hadn't been half as close as Yu was with Sun Ce, and he knew well enough that getting Ce out of the mess would be equally as great of a feat. Sun Jian seemed quite set on his idea, though, and Yu was unable to persuade him to change his mind.

Zhou Yu shook his head. The thoughts couldn't be important enough for him to miss an opportunity with his current interest, he knew. He took a moment to gaze up toward her as he continued to sit, searching her expression for any hint of emotion placed in it. There was nothing affirming any admiration in Xiao's eyes, and he involuntarily breathed a slow sigh. "What brings you here?" he finally asked.

"I was gonna talk to Lord Sun Jian," Xiao said, her voice perky. He raised an eyebrow. Normally she seemed less comfortable when he was around her. Perhaps it was just because he was below her in height at the moment. "About training people in the other camp."

Xiao blinked a few times, then suddenly lifted her hands to her mouth. "Oopes." she added in, glancing around as if she was afraid of being caught in a lie.

"Training people?" Zhou Yu started, slowly beginning to formulate what was going on. "You were planning on going for Sun Ce!"

Xiao Qiao's head tilted. "You know about it?"

Yu couldn't help but chuckle. "Why of course. But I didn't expect you to. You shouldn't try," he added in with a soft sigh. "Lord Sun Jian has a lot on his mind. Sun Ce will only be there for a month, and after that, Lady Sun will take his place."

The man watched as Xiao hurriedly stomped a few times on the floor, shaking her head. "Noooooo," she exclaimed, "I'm not doing it for Lord Sun Ce, I have to try and get Lady Sun out of it for Lu Xun's sake! And nothing you say is gonna change my mind, okay? So don't try, okay?"

Zhou Yu went silent for a long moment, then felt his mouth curve upward, the coy smile reappearing on his face. ::For Lu Xun?:: Yu wondered to himself. ::Now what does he have to do with Lady Sun?::

"Lady Xiao Qiao," the messenger finally interjected, yawning and gesturing toward the girl. "Lord Sun Jian has a moment to spare."

"Well, that's me," Xiao said, scratching her head sheepishly. She hopped up and headed toward the room.

Zhou Yu watched her quietly, then shook his head, the smile not fading from his face. A small idea began to form in his head, slowly evolving into a highly arguable one, and he stood up, readying to present himself to Sun Jian again as well.


	8. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"You wish to _what_?"

The expression on Sun Jian's face was enough to signal his utter disbelief in his strategist's words. Zhou Yu simply sent the leader a curt nod. After he had waited for some time earlier, he could hear the younger Qiao sister whining from the other side of the door before himself, and he had a feeling it would be best for him to intervene. The good thing was that Sun Jian did not have an incredible temper, or else Xiao would have had a rather big problem in her hands. The bad thing was that he was stubborn, something which Sun Ce had inherited more than he really should have. Zhou Yu sighed inwardly, his gaze slowly shifting toward Xiao, who seemed almost as shocked as the Sun leader himself.

The room went silent for a long while, and Yu struggled not to crack a small smile when Sun Jian put a hand to his head. "I can't believe all of you," he said, looking defeated. Under the dim lighting, Yu noted that his leader wasn't as young as he used to be. The start of worrying creases extended in his tired face as he continued, "First Shang Xiang wants to take Ce's place to train the others in the camp and then you wish to take over her place instead, and then she does," he gestured toward Xiao Qiao, "Saying it's because of Lu Xun and then now you both do?"

Zhou Yu raised an eyebrow, then dismissed it. "Something like that," Xiao blurted out, still seeming to recover.

Sun Jian sighed to himself. Zhou Yu had brought up his point rather strongly, saying that although it was perhaps not as efficient to send anyone other than Ce himself to the other camp, it would still do equally, if not better, if Sun Jian were to send both of the volunteers to go instead. Of course, not only would the training be done quicker and the troops readied along with solving the problem of Sun Ce's romantic problems...it would also give Zhou Yu a chance to be near the Qiao sister without so many interferences. He wondered if Xiao had noticed this and had looked shocked at this, but then figured she wouldn't have thought so far. Cute as she might have been, she was quite lacking in some sense factors. The girl piped up again, noticing Jian's hesitation. "Then we can be done quicker and be ready for battle real fast!" she beamed, turning toward Zhou Yu. "Right?"

Zhou Yu blinked a few times, caught off-guard. At first, he had to admit, he didn't know if she would be willing to agree on his comment. He hadn't at all expected her to seem so enthused. Luckily he knew his confusion wouldn't penetrate his expression and he nodded a few times, not quite trusting his mouth to say anything comprehensible.

"...you do understand that Sun Ce will still go for a little while?" Sun Jian attempted.

"He doesn't have to," Xiao said instantly. "Neither does Sun Shang! We can train them ourselves just fine." she bobbed her head up and down a few times to try and win his favor.

Zhou Yu knew better than to push, though, and finally nodded his head. "That's enough, Lady Qiao," he said slowly, his eyes still focused on his leader. Prodding Jian too much could cause his entire plan to backfire. "We'll back him up later on."

Sun Jian finally nodded. "Understanding as always, Zhou Yu," he commented, a broad smile appearing on his face. Yu breathed a sigh of relief, then glanced toward the two, hoping they didn't notice. Jian seemed too busy in his own world, and Xiao was jumping up and down triumphantly in her section of the room.

Zhou Yu stood quietly for another moment before finally excusing himself, stepping past the cheered Xiao Qiao and exiting the room. He couldn't help but feel a small tug of surprise pull in his face when he spotted Sun Ce standing there, leaning against the wall with both arms crossed. A slight grin appeared on Ce's face, and he pushed himself away from the wall, waving Yu down.

"What's up with the serious expression, Zhou Yu?" Sun Ce asked, the grin still staying on his face. "Had a fun talk with Pops?"

"I heard you were going to train the other camp officers," Zhou Yu started, not wishing to let on to how he had known quite a while before. "When did this happen?"

--

Sun Shang Xiang took a slow seat under one of the wider trees, both eyes darting back and forth. Noting that there seemed nothing out of the ordinary, she lounged somewhat lazily. The spot gave her a rather good view of the training grounds that the men often used in the camp, and she had to admit, all of them were very talented warriors. She also was knowledgeable enough to know that she was on equal standing in battle with them, which made her appreciate the others that much more. As she watched them, she slowly traced a circle with her finger on the old tree trunk, only half watching and half stuck in a dream like state where she could see but she couldn't--think, but not absorb. She sighed finally, a grin appearing on her face as she started toward the training area as well, sneaking up enough to let Gan Ning spot her but not his sparring partner. The man cocked an eyebrow, then smirked faintly, in the midst of his training, skillfully keeping Lu Xun facing the opposite direction. The young strategist was much too involved in the sword in front of himself to notice her sneaking up behind him. With one swift lunge, Shang Xiang grabbed the poor young man, catching him off guard and sending both of them to the floor, Xun losing both of his training sabers and Gan Ning dropping his sword with a quick step back and bursting out into laughter.

Sun Shang Xiang laughed as well, not even stopping when she saw Xun turn around and look toward her rather pitifully, seeming both tired and confused. She shook her head when she finally gained control of herself again. "Look at you!" she exclaimed, more than humored, "You look like a lost baby."

Xiang watched Lu Xun's face redden slightly, and he sighed, shaking his head twice. "...could you please get off of me?" he tried, still as polite as usual.

Gan Ning hadn't the courtesy to stop laughing quite yet, and Shang Xiang moved over to kick him teasingly when he began to roll around on the ground, holding his stomach and seeming to be trying to stop laughing. He was obviously not trying hard enough. Lu Xun stayed seated on the floor, looking perturbed. He reached over, picking up his hat that he had lost with the tumble, even though in training he seemed to have miraculously kept it on. Shang Xiang made a mental note to check if he used some sort of special substance to be able to keep his hat on at all times even when he was fighting. He didn't ever seem to be holding it, because both hands held weaponry. She sighed, it wasn't new to find things she didn't know about him.

Then again, she didn't know why she was so curious about the young man in front of her. She hadn't been before, and she had no reason to be now. Ignoring her thoughts, she swiped the hat, moving over to Gan Ning and putting the hat over the man's face. "Enough already," she said, grinning a little and waiting for Ning to sit back up. He did so rather reluctantly.

"So, Xiang," Gan Ning started, tugging the hat off and tossing it back toward Lu Xun, who caught it gratefully and now held it in his hands quite possessively like a kitten with a ball of yarn. Sun Shang Xiang had to force herself to keep from snatching it back for fun. "What brings you here?"

"I have to have a reason to hang out with my so-called friends now?" Xiang shot back, shaking her head and giving a fake sigh. "I see how it is."

Ning simply sent her a quick grin, making her wonder why it was that he suddenly seemed to become detached. She took a glance around, her eyes lingering slightly on the younger man for a moment before continuing. She couldn't help but cock an eyebrow when she noticed that what Gan Ning was looking toward were the two Qiaos, who were now in their normal area nearby a tree and seeming to be training. Or rather, Da was training while Xiao watched, tripped, and giggled like a maniac at certain times. She frowned faintly to herself, wondering how it must be to be someone like the Qiaos. Someone...normal, and not royalty. She shrugged to herself. She never really cared to be royalty and she didn't act like a princess at all. Well, not a conventional one. Trying to break the silence, she spoke again. "So, you watch them all the time, 'Ning?"

Gan Ning's eyes immediately went back to her, and she thought for a moment that she caught a blush on his face. She dismissed the thought. Hey, it was disturbing. "Watch who?"

Sun Shang Xiang grinned a little. Gan Ning always was good at sounding innocent. "Oh, nevermind."

--

"So um, me and Zhou Yu are going to um, go train the soldiers over at the um, other camp," Xiao continued, bobbing her head a few times as she watched her sister train. She frowned a little, noting that Da seemed to be ignoring her. Da Qiao turned toward her, sending her her usual smile.

"That's very nice," Da stated slowly. "But why Zhou Yu? I thought you disliked him." she moved forward, then swiped the air once with her hand closed upon an invisible fan. Xiao watched her for a moment, appreciating her sister's eloquent movements.

"Well, yeah," she said, crinkling her face, "But it was for you and Sun Ce, so--" she paused, then blinked a few times. Immediately, she burst out into nervous giggles, in an attempt to cover the folly. "Zhou Yu can't be really that bad, can he?"

Da stopped mid-movement to look toward her younger sister, and Xiao continued a few more nervous giggles, stepping forward and sending her an eager smile. "Can you teach me how to do that one move you just did, sis?" Da Qiao tilted her head slightly, and Xiao breathed a sigh of relief when she figured her sister wouldn't question her further about it. Curse her big mouth! She couldn't help but feel distracted though, as her older sister patiently tried to explain how she had been able to do the motion. Xiao copied her half-heartedly, wondering why on earth she had actually agreed to go train the others with none other than Yu himself. Sure, after talking to him, he hadn't seemed as bad as she had expected him to be, but still...

"Is there something wrong, my little sister?" Da asked quietly as they rested.

Xiao immediately shook her head on instinct, sending her the best smile she could manage. She tried her best to continue to act normally almost as if she was the one who asked Zhou Yu to go with her to train the other camp members. Da Qiao soon enough had to go and excuse herself to finish her cooking, and Xiao continued to sit lazily under the sky, looking up at the leaves and the clouds only slightly showing between the green and gold brush.

"Zhou Yu, huh?" she commented to herself quietly, thoughtfully.

She shivered a little, then shook her head, hopping up and brushing herself off. It wasn't like herself to be so thoughtful, she chided. With a loud yawn, she started inside of the camp, deciding it might be better off if she would return to her room and take a nap. Maybe it wasn't such a bright idea to have agreed on Yu's idea so quickly. She shook her head a few times. It saved Sun Ce from having to go for long and it also saved Lu Xun from worrying about Shang Xiang going there for him as well. Xiao Qiao always loved to do things for her friends, and especially for her sister. She started to skip toward her room, feeling a little bit cheered at the prospect. Even if her sister didn't really need to know the reason, she'd feel better just knowing it was partially for Da's sake that she was truly going.

And spending over a month with Zhou Yu!

She made a face, knowing how many of the other women in the camp would have fainted at the mere thought of it. She shook her head. That was one of the things that prevented her from being completely happy. Well, so she guessed. But he wasn't really that bad...

Xiao Qiao shook her head a few times, pouting and stomping her way to her room now. He was too, bad, and she wasn't going to be happy at all having to help him train the others in the camp. Nope, not happy at all, and who was that Sun Jian to say she couldn't train them all by herself? She was grown up enough anyway!

--

Da Qiao hummed softly to herself as she began to cook, trying to keep her mind off of her younger sister. She felt somewhat worried for her, especially because her wording had slipped slightly. It seemed almost as though Xiao was hiding something from her. She frowned. It was anything but like her to hide something from Da, and she knew this the best. At first she had thought to question Xiao about it, but she had given it a second thought and had hoped that Xiao would bring it up willingly herself. This approach had seemingly failed.

She breathed a soft sigh, almost jumping when she heard the door slide open. She barely caught her utensils and took a moment to regain her composure before she turned toward the door. To her surprise, it was Lu Xun. The young woman tilted her head slightly, then gestured for the young man to step forward. "Did you need something?" she asked, her question hesitant. "The food will be ready shortly."

Xun glanced around the room sheepishly before speaking. "I was just wondering if--"

"No, I haven't seen Lady Sun today," Da stated, unable to keep herself from teasing him. It wasn't often that she did, and she was sure he could tell. Whenever she teased, she heard that there was a sparkle in her eyes that gave it away instantly.

She didn't need to look up to know that the young man would be blushing faintly. "N--no, I was going to ask about Xiao." Lu Xun started. Da noticed from the corner of her eyes that his eyes were slightly lowered.

The young woman took a moment to begin fixing up the food, then spoke, "The last time that I saw her, I trained with her for a moment." she looked up to give him a smile. "I guess you've already checked there though. Perhaps she is in her room." a thoughtful expression crossed her face, and she added in quietly, "Or with Zhou Yu to discuss their training."

Da couldn't hide her surprise at his expression when he took a step forward. "Training?" he asked, and she immediately shook her head.

"O--oh, nevermind that." Da Qiao immediately sent him another smile, wondering why she felt so conscious about the topic. She paused, then sighed. "I suppose she would tell you soon enough. Zhou Yu and her are to go to the other camp to train for a few weeks, so I've heard." she began to mix a few of her ingredients, then added, "It disturbs me."

"Disturbs?" Lu Xun shook his head. "Zhou Yu is a good man. You needn't worry about your sister."

"Oh, I know that he is a good man," Da stated, giggling once. "He is Lord Sun Ce's best friend, after all." she paused, then hid her face, hoping he wouldn't see her blush upon the sound of her lord's name. "It isn't that," she added in, her expression slowly growing serious. "It's just that...she spoke about it being something of my sake. I would hate for my little sister to have to go off somewhere such as there because of myself..."

She turned faintly to glance toward Lu Xun, who shook his head faintly. "...I suppose it's partially my fault," he started. "It's no use to hide anything from you, Lady Qiao." she watched him attempt a timid smile. "If it's alright, I'll speak with you after dinner?" he bowed his head. "If you wish to talk, I'll most likely be in my room."

"I'll make sure to check Lady Sun's as well, my lord." Da said, the sparkle returning to her eyes. She smiled to herself as the young man left, then went back to her cooking, feeling somewhat relieved and still somewhat worried at the same time.

--

Lu Xun felt himself worrying as he started toward Xiao Qiao's room. He knew that the other Qiao was overly perceptive about the other officers, but the way that she had him completely read was more than unnerving. What if everybody else already knew about his interest in his friend as well? He sighed, remembering how he had excused himself rather quickly after Shang Xiang had started to tease Gan Ning about the Qiao sisters. He doubted that the former pirate really had any interest in either Qiao, for he had seen them and talked about them drunkenly before, but never with real truth behind his words. Gan Ning was actually quite popular with the women, spare for when he was drunk. Lu Xun hid a chuckle. Ning was barely ever sober, and when he was, he wasn't quite as fun to be around.

Xun's expression somewhat dampened after a pause. It wasn't uncommon for people to rumor about how Lady Sun seemed to have a liking to the pirate as well. He, in fact, hadn't really seen much truth in such rumors himself, but there was always the chance...

Lu Xun sighed. He was much less experienced at anything than the ex-pirate, and even rumors about Zhou Yu courting the princess irked him whenever it was brought up. Yu was definately not interested in anyone other than the younger Qiao, which always made him feel better, but that didn't mean that he was completely safe. Xun shook his head. His biggest rival was neither of those men over his own inner-self.

How in the WORLD did he expect himself to approach her as more than a friend?

Lu Xun barely noticed when he had arrived at Xiao's door, and when he did, he stared blankly at it for a moment before remembering what it was that he had come to ask. He hesitantly raised a hand to knock, and almost instantly, Xiao's beaming face greeted him at the doorway.

"Oh, hiya, Xun," Xiao stated, not looking the least bit confused to see him there. "I got some great news for you!" she gestured for him to hurry in, and when he didn't take the signal, he immediately felt her small hand tugging on his sleeve and with surprising strength, dragging him inside.

Lu Xun blinked a few times, surprised at the condition of the girl's room. It usually wasn't, in short, the prettiest area of the camp. Unusually, it seemed to be almost as tidy as Da's place itself, and for a moment he wondered if the older Qiao had come in and cleaned for her, when he remembered an odd quality of the small Qiao. He watched her carefully, and when he spotted her toying around with a small towel, he knew that something was wrong.

Xiao Qiao rarely ever went into deep thought, and when she did, she would get lost in her own world and start arranging things until there was nothing to arrange, and when she was done, she would blankly stare at a ceiling or a wall until she was done. It was one of the few times that the girl could actually seem serious. He could tell that she had noticed something wrong, and he watched her let out a nervous giggle. "Like my room?" she attempted, scratching her head sheepishly. "It wasn't this clean for ages!"

The young man was at a loss for words. Luckily, the young Qiao was quick to fill in for him. "I got bored so I went and cleaned. Pretty, huh? Well anyway, me and Zhou Yu are going to go to the other camp, so Sun Shang Xiang doesn't haveta go, you know?" she grinned toward him. "So yeah. You wanna tell her or you want me to tell her or you want her dad to tell her?"

Lu Xun blinked a few more times, not quite ready to be bombarded with questions. "W--well, I don't--"

"Here, you can go tell her now so it'll be all good, right? I got a lot of stuff to do to get ready and pack and all, you know? So like um, I'll talk to you later?" Xiao sent him another grin, this time more half-hearted.

"It's alright if you don't want to go," Xun said with a quick shake of his head. "I'll go for you if you don't want to."

He watched the girl seriously seem to consider for a while, then shake her head quickly, her sideways ponytail moving up and down like a horse's tail. "It's okay, I'll go. It'll be fun!" she shot him a smile. To his relief, this time it didn't seem forced.

"Alright."

--

Sun Ce managed to keep his expression lighthearted after he briefly explained what was happening to his friend. "So I guess I'm stuck going to train the others, eh?"

"Not for long, my friend," Zhou Yu stated, and Ce raised an eyebrow, seeing a familiar light appear in Yu's face. Yu definitely had something planned, and Ce didn't know if he should be happy or start worrying.

"Yeah? Whatddya mean by that?" Sun Ce shrugged. "It's alright anyway," he added in, moving forward to slap his friend on the shoulder with a teasing grin. "I'm gonna talk to Pops to let me take over the entire mission so Shang Xiang doesn't have to go. I gotta do something for my little sis' some times don't I?"

He watched Zhou Yu breath a slow sigh and shake his head. "Lady Sun doesn't have to go now anyway," he said. "Let me explain this to you. I spoke with your father already, and he says that you'll only need to stay for a month. I can talk him into giving you less, I'm rather certain." he paused, then continued, a slow smirk appearing on his face. "I'll be taking over the rest of your mission, with none other than Lady Xiao herself."

Sun Ce paused for a moment, stunned, then shot his friend a grin. "Well nice going on your end, eh? Now how in the world did you convince her to do that?"

Yu's expression seemed unreadable for a moment, and Ce waited for him to shake his head before speaking again. "Well, means that I gotta start hustling too, eh?" Ce shrugged. "I guess that means my happy times talk with Pops doesn't need to exist today."

"I suppose that is the case," Zhou Yu commented.

Sun Ce took a moment to glance toward his friend. His own grin didn't falter, but inside it was. He hated to lose, especially to his best friend, but he knew that Yu had an upperhand when it came to women. Zhou Yu had a quality to him which most of the female race seemed to find as attractive. Even Ce had to admit, he could see what it was himself. He couldn't name it, but it was something which drew people toward Yu, however cool and composed he might seem. Maybe it was the maturity of the man. Ce sighed to himself. Maturity wasn't his forte in the very least. "Well, then I'm off," he said, keeping his outside expression his usual. He leaned forward a little, as if admiring his friend's face before nudging him once. "Don't have too much fun without me, alright?"

Zhou Yu was slow to smile. "I can't guarantee anything, Sun Ce."

Sun Ce wandered off alone toward his room, feeling rather unnerved. He had to admit he was happy about not having to spend the whole time at the other camp, for this way he would be that much closer to his lovely Qiao, but at the same time he felt somewhat left out. Knowing Yu's luck, he would return with Xiao dangling all over him, and Sun Ce had an odd feeling that he would still be at the same barrier with Da, being unable to say anything more than he had already said to her. He had tried, he had to admit, but when he figured that she hadn't heard him, he had frozen.

With a great sigh, he entered his room, laying down in the middle of it and staring up at the ceiling. "Sun Ce," he said to himself rather quietly, "Why do you haveta be like this?"

His mind went back to the moment when he had spoken his words to the older Qiao, and he shook his head, putting a hand over his eyes. He could have been done by then! He could have told her and gotten it over with! But no, he had to be the fool and pretend he hadn't said a thing. He sighed, feeling a wave of irritation at himself. One hand instinctively went up toward the ribbon in his hair, and he tugged it out, releasing his hair from his ponytail. He pulled it up high above his face, looking up toward the red ribbon carefully for a long time before shutting his eyes.

When he reopened his eyes, he barely realized that he was holding the item close to him as he had always wished to do the same to her...


	9. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Xiao Qiao rolled off of her bed, landing on the floor with a loud yawn. She tugged out her high ponytail lazily, then started to look for her pajamas. She knew that it would take her a while to pack for such a long leave, and just thinking about it made her nervous. She let out a soft sigh to herself. The main reason for her to be willing to take Sun Shang Xiang's place in training the others was to get away from Zhou Yu, not to be close to him! Now if only she had thought harder when she was in front of Sun Jian...

She made a face, then passed by her mirror, pausing to glance at herself. She crinkled her face toward her reflection. Xiao was not so ignorant, and she knew that many of the men around camp thought her and her sister to be one of the most beautiful women in China. Looking at her reflection, she wondered why this was so. She understood wholeheartedly about her older sister, who was mature and could cook and clean and also sang beautifully. Da could dance and do everything else that a normal young woman could do as well. On the other hand... Xiao frowned. Her face was much plumper than her that of her sister's, which made her seem that much more childish, and although they weren't too far apart in age, it seemed that Da could seem so much more desirable. Even personality wise, Da was much more submissive and less whiny than herself. Xiao paused for a moment, then shook her head, deciding that not only was Zhou Yu not her type, but he wasn't as smart as he looked in the first place.

"Who said he looked smart anyway," she grumbled to herself, starting to dig through her piles of clothing to find her pajamas.

The idea of the young man had still barely left her thoughts past the day that she had seen him in her room, and on second thought, she wasn't very happy about going to the other camp. She had already vowed to herself about fifty times in the last half hour that she would stay as far away from the man as possible. This was, well, until she figured it would be rather hard to avoid him, if she was to be training the men in the other camp alongside the man. Xiao sighed to herself, throwing her clothes quickly on her bed and then deciding it would be best to get a drink of water and attempt to calm down before sleeping. The last thing she needed was a nightmare about Zhou Yu's handsome face.

She paused for a moment. Handsome?

Now why in China did she come up with that description?

She frowned again, completely ignoring her reflection in the mirror as she started out, feeling almost afraid to look at herself. She could feel a faint blush on her cheeks, and didn't wish to confirm it as she exited. She paused when she walked out of her room, looked around twice, then firmly planted in her mind as she walked down the hallway:

Zhou Yu is NOT handsome!

Not not not not not not not not not not not not not not not not not not--

"Oof!" the girl exclaimed immediately upon slamming into somebody else who seemed to have been starting toward their room as well. She landed on the floor, regretably feeling a jolt in her leg, and then slowly looked up to see who she had crashed into.

To her complete irritation, it was the only person she had not wished to see until she needed to. Zhou Yu's expression radiated concern as he eyed her up and down, then leaned down to attempt to help her up. "My apologies, Lady Xiao," he started.

Xiao blinked a few times, watching the man's dark hair frame his face perfectly to make him seem almost like an angel.

Wait, no. A devil a devil a devil a devil a devil!

Xiao instantly leapt up on her feet, feeling sheepish and somewhat guilty for not responding, but shook those thoughts away, immediately rushing off as fast as her tiny legs could carry her. She reached the end of the hallway not too long afterwards, then peered backwards, feeling somewhat relieved that Yu had not thought to follow her. Then, she took a moment to think to herself before bursting out into giggles.

--

Zhou Yu watched the girl speed away, his usually neutral expression sinking into one of confusion for a moment. He let out a soft sigh. Perhaps it had been a little too early for him to be thinking that he had won the favor of the girl if only slightly. At this rate, she thought he was worse off than he had started. He placed a hand on his chin thoughtfully as he started to walk toward his room, wondering whatever it was that had caused such a frightful responce from the younger Qiao.

"So, what did you do now, Zhou Yu?" a voice called out from behind him, and he had to struggle to keep from jumping as he was torn away from his thoughts.

The man turned slowly, lowering his gaze just slightly to meet those of the Wu princess'. Sun Shang Xiang gave him a teasing smile. "I just saw Xiao run by here like a wolf was chasing her."

Zhou Yu felt no need to hide anything from her at the time, and returned the smile with a shrug. "I only tried helping her up after she fell, that's all." He stayed quiet for some time, noting her eyes trying their best to read his expression. Knowing himself, he could tell that he would have an easier time at analyzing her than vice versa. "I have some news for you," he stated slowly, moving his gaze to go directly on hers. To his surprise, he thought he saw a blush on her cheeks, which was nothing new when it came to his looking toward women, but was somewhat odd to see on her. He smoothly looked aside before it could affect him further. "I've spoken to Sun Jian about training, and he will allow me to take your place."

He could see Xiang's eyes widen from the corner of his gaze. "Zhou Yu! I didn't want you to--"

"It was because I wanted to," Yu corrected, a sly smile slipping through his initial defenses. "Do not worry about Sun Ce. I'll talk Lord Sun Jian out of his ideas soon enough."

When he finally looked back toward Sun Shang Xiang, he found a half-humored, half-grateful smile on her face, which seemed to light her up instantly. He noted to himself that Lady Sun wasn't so bad herself, then contented himself to listening to what she had to say.

"Of course, Zhou Yu," she said, the expression turning into a grin. "You're always so clever." she shook her head, "It's a good thing we have you on our side. You know, with Sun Ce and all, we need some good thinkers to even him out." she scratched her head sheepishly. "Well, and me too, I guess."

Zhou Yu gave her a curt smile, and she seemed to take it as a hint to leave. He hadn't really intended such, but he didn't mind, for he had nothing further to speak to her about in his mind. Plus, it was getting late. She began to excuse herself, turning away, then paused, making him stall before his own leave. She didn't turn to face him as he questioned, "Is there something else?"

Yu brushed a strand of hair from his face, then tilted his head. It took him a try to catch her words, and they brought a small smile upon his lips.

"Thanks, Zhou Yu."

--

Sun Shang Xiang decided to stop by Lu Xun's room as she walked, not feeling quite up to going to sleep yet. She felt rather odd in feeling her face warm when she spoke to Yu earlier. It wasn't that she was interested in him in ways other than a friend, however much Sun Ce thought it was so, but it was only because his gaze seemed to center on her right at the moment, as though he was able to pull out anything from her mind without her consent. Had Zhou Yu truly obtained this magical super-power, she doubted he would try it on herself, but it still unnerved her slightly. She had a sudden realization upon why she had heard a few of the other women outside before talk about the Wu officer's deep eyes. She had found them less attractive than knowing, but that was her and they were others.

Xiang shook her head a little. She had expected Zhou Yu to do something, but she hadn't thought he would truly go to the other camp in order to train the others in place of herself. The young woman became so absorbed in her thoughts that she forgot to knock on Lu Xun's door and instead barged on in, almost as if it was her own room, and she would have easily started to look through his clothes to attempt to find her nightgown as well if it wasn't that Lu Xun was seated on his bed, almost equally absorbed in thought.

Both jumped at the same time.

"Lady Sun!" Lu Xun exclaimed, glancing around his room once nervously before looking back toward her.

"Lu Xun," Shang Xiang said hesitantly, "What are you doing here?"

Xun looked at her as if she had just grown a horn on her head. "...this is my room." he reminded, his voice soft. A faint blush slowly grew on his face, and he fidgeted nervously. "...are you in need of anything?"

Sun Shang Xiang shook her head, attempting to clear her thoughts. "Oh. Doh. Sorry about that," she started, then sighed. "I don't need anything..I just came in here because I wanted to do something besides go to sleep," she commented, recalling what it really was that she was doing. She looked toward the young man, who now seemed to be busying himself in rummaging through his clothes. It finally dawned on her that she had barged into his room when he was going to sleep and that she might have come in whilest he was sleeping if she hadn't been more careful. It also dawned on her that his nervousness was probably coming from the concept that he did not have a shirt on.

She immediately tried her best not to have her face warm on realization, but to her, it was harder than it should have been. She hoped that he wouldn't catch her staring, for that would be embarrassing as is, but she couldn't get herself to look aside. Trying not to sound strange, she tried, "Did you, um, want to go to sleep now? I'll leave you alone if you um, want to...um...sleep."

Sun Shang Xiang caught herself mumbling. The more she tried to concentrate on sounding normal, the more she was failing. She had no idea whether to feel glad or dejected when he found his shirt and tugged it back on. "If you're here, you might as well make yourself comfortable," Xun spoke, his voice still barely over a whisper. He paused, then looked dismayed. "I didn't know you were coming...if I did, I would have thought to clean up a little more..."

She blinked a few times, taking a quick glance at the room. He always had a tidy room, and she could see nothing of difference from his usual cleanliness, spare for a few pieces of paper scattered hastily on the ground. She raised an eyebrow and looked toward him. "Clean up?"

From his reaction, she could tell that he hadn't meant to speak those thoughts aloud.

--

Lu Xun tried his best to think of something to say, but he couldn't, and he sighed to himself, feeling like a fool. It was true that he hadn't expected the princess to appear, but he had luckily taken the time to clean in case the older Qiao thought to take him on his word later on. He hastily touched his cheek, then hid his face, which was considerably still warm. It wasn't that he was ashamed of being found shirt-less in the first place, for he, though young, was still a man and had no reason to hide his chest to the public. He had felt overly conscious, though, when it was her, and had quickly decided to replace his top. As he searched for it, though, he had almost felt the woman's gaze upon him, boring two deep holes in his innocent flesh. He was nothing like the others when it came to battle, and unlike Gan Ning and even Sun Ce, More like Zhou Yu, Xun had few scars upon him. Sometimes, he felt even embarrassed for coming out of battle seemingly without such glory. He wondered if she had caught his nervous reaction.

"Your room's always clean anyway," Sun Shang Xiang continued, seeming to be trying to spark a conversation.

He gave a sheepish smile. ::Only when I have company,:: he commented to himself, then remembered what he had spoken with Xiao earlier. "O--oh, I heard that you don't need to go to the other camp anymore," he said. He himself caught the tone of hope in his own voice, which made him feel even more embarrassed.

Lu Xun wished that someday he would be able to look the young woman in the eye without feeling so nervous. Today, though, wasn't the day. He kept his gaze casted aside.

"Yeah, I heard from Zhou Yu," Xiang said, her voice signaling both relief and confusion. "He's going to take over my shift or something."

"Along with Xiao," Lu Xun added in. He paused when there was no response, and then summoned up enough courage to attempt to look toward her direction.

Sun Shang Xiang had a puzzled look on her face, and she turned her face to look toward his as well. He eyed his short-haired beauty for a moment before glancing aside yet again. "Xiao too?" she commented. "Hm..I thought she didn't get along with Zhou Yu. Well, that explains a lot of things." there was yet another pause, and a soft noise which signalled that she had stood up. "Xun?"

The young man turned toward her, tilting his head faintly.

"Sorry." Shang Xiang's gaze lowered, and her expression seemed to fade into something that he couldn't quite place. To him, it seemed a mixture between sadness and hurt. Immediately, he frowned. It wasn't like her to look so.

"About what?" he stayed seated, though tempted to go over to her and attempt to be of some comfort. He sighed to himself. He would never be worthy enough to provide any comfort to her...

"Xiao," Sun Shang Xiang said, now looking thoughtful. "You liked her, didn't you? She's going to be gone for a while, so.."

Lu Xun took a long moment for the words to sink into his mind. Come to think of it, she had already asked him about his relationship with Xiao earlier, and he had tried his best to explain he wasn't interested in the young Qiao as any more than a friend, but as he could see, she hadn't seemed to be paying attention. It was a good time to get it straight across that he was interested in someone else.

But--

The young man shook his head. "Lady Sun, I think you have it all mistaken, it's not that I--"

She wasn't looking in his direction anymore, he noted, and he could hear a soft knocking at the door. "Want me to get it?" she asked, obviously distracted. Lu Xun let out a sigh. Perhaps it was just better to let it go this way.

"If you would," he said, giving a sheepish smile. He was not in the least surprised when it was Da Qiao, and also not surprised when Xiang excused herself shortly after.

--

Da Qiao could tell that she had appeared at a bad time. She had not quite truly expected Xun to be with Sun Shang Xiang, and with Lu Xun's crestfallen expression, she knew that she should have thought before knocking. She kept all of this under her serene expression, for she was as lucky as Zhou Yu in keeping her inner emotions contained. Well, that was, as long as she was not in front of Sun Ce.

"I apologize for interrupting, my lord," Da stated, taking a seat as soon as he gestured toward one.

"It's alright," Xun responded almost immediately. The expression on his face didn't change, and she sighed.

The older Qiao smiled faintly to herself as she exited Xun's room a few moments later. The young man had taken his time in explaining exactly why Zhou Yu and her sister were going off. Sun Ce had yet to mention that he was even leaving in the first place. She had felt somewhat saddened that he had not spoken to her first about it, but then dismissed the idea. Her lord was a busy man, she knew.

Still, this gave her a slight excuse to visit him in his room. The Qiao felt a soft feeling of nervousness overcome her for a moment. She barely ever went to anybody's room, and she had only once been to Ce's earlier, when she had to take care of him after he had gotten an injury in battle. The smile on her face grew slightly. Sun Ce looked like a baby when he slept.

The young woman took a deep breath before knocking on Sun Ce's room. The lights were out, and she felt bad for disturbing her lord. If he didn't answer quickly, she decided, she would wait until morning. She was just about to leave, turning away to start toward her room, when Sun Ce appeared in the hallway, giving a large yawn and then rubbing at his eyes. He almost froze when he spotted her, and she took a step back instinctively. Knowing it seemed odd to be standing in front of the man's room, she bowed. "Good evening, my lord."

"Yeah...h--hey." Ce moved over to open his door, then gestured toward his room. "You wanna talk or something? It's not too common for you to be wandering around here, Da."

"I was just curious about something," Da Qiao stated, following the man obediently to his room. "I heard you were going off to train at another camp." she tried to hide any feeling of hurt from both her face and voice. "Is that true?"

Ce took a seat, his gaze lowering. "I was gonna let you know about it after I got more details," he commented quietly. She noted that he looked almost like a little boy getting scolded.

"I'm glad that you're not staying there for long," she said, then shut her mouth. It was not like her to be so forward. It wasn't her business if he didn't wish to talk about it anyway.

"Glad, huh?" Sun Ce nodded his head. "I am too." she saw him open his mouth, think for a bit, then close it.

"Is there something wrong, my lord? If you would rather to sleep, I will take my leave," Da Qiao commented, a faint frown appearing on her face.

"It's alright. Just a few things on my mind."

--

::Yep, a few things on my mind,:: Ce thought to himself, raising his gaze to look toward the Qiao, who was still standing and now was glancing around his room. ::Or mainly one thing on my mind...::

He didn't know whether to be happy or not. The object of all of his thoughts lately was standing in front of him, and he couldn't get himself to say anything. Ce's inner self was laughing at him, he knew. Here he was, always the top at everything and being the star of the show with his best friend Zhou Yu and he couldn't even say three measly words. The worst part is that he already said them and he couldn't get himself to repeat them. And there was Da, being completely oblivious to his dilemma. Sun Ce lay down, focusing his attention above. A few moments ago, he had wondered what it would be like to have the older Qiao come to his room, even just to talk, and now that he could, he blanked. ::Come on, Ce, you're going to bore her...::

"S--so," they both started at the same time. Ce shut his mouth immediately; Da looked rather embarrassed and lowered her gaze.

"You first," Ce stated.

"No, it's always you first, my lord."

In truth, Sun Ce really had nothing further to say than that word in general. He wracked his brain. "...how'd you hear about my going off anyway? Pops spread the word or something?"

She seemed rather hesitant before she spoke, "I spoke to Lord Lu Xun for a moment before," she commented.

Sun Ce raised an eyebrow. He had no idea that Lu Xun had known about it. Then again, he knew with his luck he was one of the last to know about it in the first place.

"I am truly glad that you will not be going somewhere far for too long though," she continued, a serene smile placed upon her lips. He sat up and watched her mouth move as she spoke, "This way I will know if you're safe or not." she bowed her head. "Of course, since it is you, my lord, I doubt anything unfortunate would possibly occur."

"Yeah," he said, barely noticing he was speaking as he lay back down. "If I stay here, I'll know that you're safe here too."

"My lord?" Da Qiao blinked a few times. He imagined she was blushing, but he didn't want to sit up and check to see if he was wrong.

Sun Ce put an arm over his face. "The closer you are to me, the better chance I have of protecting you, right?" he paused for a moment before sitting up and shooting her a grin. "I'll make sure that you're alright. No matter what."

Da stayed quiet, her expression slowly turning into one of confusion, then returning to normal. Though Sun Ce wasn't close to her, this time he could see she truly was blushing. "'...I thank you, my lord." she said quietly, bowing her head down.


	10. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Da Qiao moved over to wipe off a few crumbs from one of the dining tables as she hummed to herself. She had dismissed herself shortly after Ce's comforting words, and seemed slightly happier than she normally was. She was just about finished setting up the table when she noticed Gan Ning's gaze upon her, suspiciously glancing at her through the side of the door. She let out a soft chuckle and skipped over to him, pulling him out of his hiding place much like her little sister would have if she had the chance.

"Woah!" he exclaimed, and she moved aside to avoid him toppling on her.

She greeted him with the same smile she used to greet everyone besides her sister and her lord. "Good morning, Lord Gan Ning," she said, bowing her head slightly, "Breakfast will be ready in just one moment if you would like to stay here and wait." Inwardly she frowned, the scent of some drink was lingering all around the ex-pirate. Ning grinned at the comment.

"Oh, nah, actually I was wondering if you saw Xiao."

One eyebrow raised on the Qiao's face, and Da wondered whatever the man would have to do with her sister. She shook her head. "I think that my little sister should still be asleep," she said slowly, to which Ning shrugged.

"Ah, already checked her room. You think she's getting ready to go to that training thing with Yu?"

Da Qiao didn't catch her own frown as it flitted across her face. "Maybe you are right, Lord Gan Ning," she said quietly.

Gan Ning apparently took this as a sign to leave and he excused himself, allowing her to return to her morning duties. Apparently, Ce's time at the other camp had been shortened to a week away to gather the force's moral. He would return when Zhou Yu and Xiao Qiao went to call for him. Da couldn't hide her worry for her sister. She knew that Xiao was indeed strong, at least stronger than she looked, and that she was perfectly capable of helping herself, but with the distracted looks she had received lately when mentioning the Lord Yu's name, Da couldn't help but wonder. Maybe Sun Ce's best friend really was starting to catch Xiao's interest. The pigtailed young woman giggled to herself softly as she stood to help set up the food. It would be most uncanny, she decided, if when the two returned, they would be friendly with each other.

::Or maybe more than just friendly,:: she added in her mind, a twinkle appearing in her eyes.

--

Xiao Qiao sneezed. Once, then twice. She wasn't sick, that much she knew, and she frowned, deciding that someone was thinking about her. It mustn't be Zhou Yu, though, because if it was every time that he thought about her, she would have already truly caught a cold!

The younger Qiao looked in the mirror as she fixed up her hair, her frown widening when she noticed that her cheeks were rosier than usual. She dismissed it for her makeup, then exited the room she was in, going to try and sneak back into her room for a break. For the last few hours, she, Zhou Yu and Sun Jian had had a "short" gathering to speak about what was to go on in the other camp. She frowned, wishing that it could just be Yu who could get blabbed at; she could just get the details later. But nooooo, things didn't work out that way. With a pout, she continued down the hallway when she heard someone call out her name.

Immediately, she froze, thinking it was someone who had caught her and was about to drag her back to the ruler's room. To her surprise it was Gan Ning, who looked, well, to her, as drunk as usual. She had never really been too fond of the ex-pirate, or really talked to him much. She had seen his eyes toward her big sister though, and almost always managed to glower him down whenever she saw him. He hadn't really ever approached her when her sister wasn't around though, and she didn't know how to react. As he ran over to her, she spoke the first thing on her mind.

"Ewwwww, you smell bad."

Gan Ning blinked a few times before bursting out in laughter. Xiao blinked a few times as well, but didn't join in, instead making a face. She hated the smell of liquor. "If you're looking for my sister, she should be making breakfast right now," she added in.

"Oh, yeah, I saw her earlier," he stated, scratching his head. "I was looking for you."

"Me?"

Xiao blinked a few more times, then shuddered, hoping that he wasn't thinking that he was going to confess to her! The younger Qiao had her share of courting men, and he was the last person she would want to be seen with. Even Zhou Yu would be better off--

And why was he still showing up in her mind? She outwardly pouted. Then she stopped, hoping that the ex-pirate wouldn't find this as cute or something. Egh.

Ning was laughing at her. Again. Xiao wished she had her fan so she could hit him, and instead crossed her arms. "So, why were you looking for me? You're not my type, you know!"

"Naah, it isn't about that." Gan Ning's expression altered to seriousness. "You and Zhou Yu are going off to train the others, the week after Ce, right?"

"Mm-hm." she raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out where this conversation was going.

"Right, okay." To Xiao's dismay, Ning moved over and patted her on the shoulder. "Teach 'em good, alright?"

The younger Qiao tilted her head, surprised. It was known that the female generals of the group were as qualified as the men, but although her sister had gotten compliments, she barely ever got any. Was he showing that he had faith in her?

"And you know, Yu's not so much of a bad guy." Ning added in, giving her a wink.

If he hadn't been walking away at that moment she woulda swung at him with her tiny fist.

--

Zhou Yu on the other hand had taken his break to meet up with the younger Wu strategist, who was at the moment pausing to adjust his hat. He had felt badly somewhat, knowing that Xun would have a lot of paperwork to do in his stead while he was gone, but he had volunteered to train the others--and he needed time to formulate a way to win his Qiao over instead of do so much of the work. Each time that he was finished with a pile, the stack seemed to grow larger. Whenever he wasn't out with the others and seeming to be "relaxing in his room," he was going through each of the statements, marking what would and would not be of use and getting things prepared in case of some sudden attack or necessary battle. Luckily the land hadn't been attacked for some time, but it was a bad sign, for it meant the other forces were growing as well as them. He knew he could trust the young man at the very least, and if all else failed, after his training session he would be returning to a ceiling high stack of paper.

"It won't be more than a month," he stated calmly as he watched his nervous comrade nod his head sheepishly. Zhou Yu attempted a smile. "I trust you can handle things on your own."

"I'll be fine," Xun said, his voice somewhat shaky. Yu hoped that would be the case, but kept his hopes somewhat low just in case.

"At the very least, just don't lose any of the papers."

Zhou Yu excused himself to go back to his room. In two days, Ce would be sent out to serve his involuntary week with the others, and then he would take Xiao Qiao and relieve his best friend from his duties. Yu smiled dryly. Ce better take his chance while the Qiaos were separated, he decided.

At that moment, his best friend exited his own room, seeming to be starting for the throne room, and Yu dropped his smile. ::Speak of the devil.::

"Oh, hey, Yu," Sun Ce called out. Yu turned his head coolly, as if he hadn't noticed Ce had even appeared.

"Good morning to you, Ce," Zhou Yu remarked. "Getting ready to set off to the other campground, are you?"

"Yeah, Pops said that I need to talk to him for a bit though. Dunno why...."

"Probably to brief you on what your duties are, like always," Yu prompted, which made Sun Ce scowl. Zhou Yu knew that the other man was more than impatient when he had to follow a specific order of directions. With a sigh, the two parted to go their own ways.

--

Sun Ce was more than glad when he was dismissed from his father's quarters. He did get along with his "Pops" a lot, as well as with his other relations, but since both were so stubborn he hated to have to argue with him. The briefing was quick, since Ce knew the basics that he would have to do. He still had two days left to go before he had to depart, but he also knew that soon he would have little time to go and visit the elder Qiao before his work would have to take his full attention. He couldn't afford to be distracted in training, and he decided he would refrain from seeing Da until the day that he returned. He exchanged a few words with the young woman during the next days that he saw her, and frowned when he saw her crestfallen expression as she was informed it would be a week or so before she would hear word from him. They parted quickly, and Ce tried his best to take her off of his mind until he was to return.

Sun Jian seemed proud of his son as Ce left, giving the others a grin and a shake of the head as he began to ride away. He was of course accompanied by a group of men who were to help him in his journey and soon enough he was out of site of the others. One of his officers turned toward him, and he shot them a quick grin. "Well, guys," he announced, "Let's get this show on the road!"

The grin stayed on his face as he watched the others' relieved glances. It wouldn't be a day before he reached the other campground, and he was instantly off of his horse and rushing off to the main ground of the camp when he arrived. It was getting late, but all of the generals gathered with a whoop of joy upon seeing their leader's son come to assist them with training.

Sun Ce's grin widened as he took the stage. "Alright men!" he exclaimed as he raised an arm in the air, "I'll be around for the next week or so, so you'll all get a chance to show me your stuff!"

A loud cheer went through the crowd and Ce nodded to himself. He enjoyed the attention and he most definitely knew he belonged in a nice crowd such as this whenever he had the chance to participate in them. Still, he knew that at the moment Da Qiao might be eagerly awaiting his return, and he scratched his head sheepishly. If anyone paid close enough attention, they might have caught him run a quick hand down the red ribbon in his hair.

--

Lu Xun could feel the load on his shoulders when Yu had told him that he would be responsible of all paperwork while Zhou Yu was on duty elsewhere. It wasn't the first time that this had happened, and before, everything had run smoothly, but Xun couldn't keep the nervous chill from his frame. Ce had left a few days before, and even he could notice that Da's smile was slightly smaller and Xiao was worried about her whenever she had time to be. The younger Qiao was taking time to attempt to train herself so she could be more "presentable" to the others in the camp, and thus had no time to come and visit the young strategist either. Lu Xun sighed to himself as he glanced toward the scrolls of paperwork that he was to finish by the end of the night. It seemed so overbearing that he almost felt like he would have been in a better position if he had volunteered to train the men instead. His own skills might be rusting, he thought to himself with a sinking heart. The last time he had had a chance to train was the day that he had seen Ce weild a sword almost as well as any swordsman.

Lu Xun was so absorbed in his thoughts that he barely heard the door open and a shadow fall upon his figure. When it covered his paper, he looked up, immediately sitting up straight and cautiously when he saw the regal form of Sun Jian at the doorway. Jian sent him a small, tight-lipped smile, and Xun bowed his head faintly. "Did you need something, my lord?" he tried, his voice quiet.

"Oh, no no. I was just making sure that you were alright." Sun Jian walked over and began eyeing the stack of papers to each side of the young man, and he felt a nervous blush appear on his cheeks. Again, he should have been more careful and cleaned up a little more. "You're a good fellow." Jian finally ended, and Xun immediately responded with a quick polite comment as the lord exited the room. Worried that someone else might enter, Lu Xun stood up to at least clean up a few piles of paper. When he stood, he felt his vision fail for a few unsteady moments and shook his head twice to clear his mind. Instinctively, he leaned against the wall until he had recovered, then frowned. He didn't feel ill, only slightly tired. With that thought firmly in his head, he went on to finish what he was set to do.

--

The week went by rather smoothly, as Sun Shang Xiang recalled. Already it was two days before Zhou Yu and Xiao Qiao would be sent out to relieve Ce's position. She had to admit it was hectic through the entirety of the week though, and even she had been too busy with doing chores for her father and setting up and getting ready and doing everything else possible that prevented her from seeing any of her friends. She had finally gathered enough time off to spare a moment to check up on the others, but then learned that both Qiaos were busily preparing for Xiao's leave and Zhou Yu and Gan Ning were doing the same for himself. Lu Xun on the other hand still had a stack of paperwork he had been working on for quite some time, so she didn't feel any urge to go and check up on him.

With a slow sigh, she took a seat next to one of the windows in her quarters, looking outdoors toward the few birds which had gathered nearby.

"Shang Xiang," she heard a voice call from behind her, and she sent a quick smile toward her other brother, Sun Quan. She had barely a chance to ever talk to him, for he was always beside Sun Jian. Quan took a seat next to her, and she shrugged.

"Something up?" she moved over to poke his hat. "You're barely away from Dad, you know."

"Ahh, Father's busy," Quan admitted, folding his arms. Sun Shang noticed he looked like a sage when he did so; probably due to his scholarly looking clothing.

"Oh." was her only response.

"Two more days till Ce's back," Sun Quan stated after a pause.

Shang Xiang nodded her head. "And then Zhou Yu and Xiao are going instead." She watched irritably while Quan grinned. "My poor younger sister," he said, "You're going to miss them, aren't you?"

Sun Shang Xiang wasn't stupid enough not to know that both of her brothers had been suspecting something with her and Zhou Yu. Which was, in her mind, completely and utterly absurd. First of all, they weren't even really close friends as is, and second of all, since when did her name become Xiao Qiao? Who was obviously the only one in Yu's mind anyway. Not that Xiang minded. But her brothers always teased her about it. The young woman wasn't really sure if Quan really meant his joking manners but at the very least Ce was definitely believing it.

"Miss them?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe." her expression turned to seriousness, and she could tell that Quan noticed, as he leaned forward, his own expression mirroring her own. "Actually..it's more like I feel kind of guilty."

"Guilty? You?"

Shang Xiang made a mental note that her two brothers had somehow spent more time together than she had let on. "Ohhh, nevermind." she said, shooing him away. "Go find someone else to bother, brother."

When he made no move to leave, she tried again, this time flashing him a smile. "I'll tell you when I feel up to it, alright?"

He still didn't seem ready to leave, and instead she stood up, shaking her head in mock annoyance as she started down the hallway to leave. As she walked, she paused when she thought she heard a loud thud coming from the other side of the area. Curious, she began to start toward the noise, when she realized that it had come from Lu Xun's room. "Xun?" she attempted, knocking at the door two times. No response.

"Xun??" a pause. "I'm going to open the door, okay?"

Still no response. She moved her hand to the door and opened it, her eyes immediately widening when she spotted the young man sprawled on the floor next to the ever growing stack of paper and his writing utensils.


	11. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Zhou Yu admitted he had little time to spare, for he was still in need for preparation, but Sun Shang Xiang had immediately called on him for assistance when she found the young strategist collapsed on the floor. There was nothing of serious physical harm that had come to him, and Yu shook his head. He had admittedly had something similar happen to himself once when he had stayed up for some days to work on his own material, but he hadn't thought that Xun would have sacrificed his sleep to try and finish all that was assigned to him.

Zhou Yu frowned a bit, unable to mask his guilt. He had been wary of the younger man's overwork, but he had thought that perhaps he wouldn't face so much fatigue. His frown deepened slightly. Since when had he lost the ability to judge what was happening to the young man? True, Lu Xun had kept quiet about how tired he had been, but he was one of the easiest people in Wu for Yu to read--did that mean that something was wrong with Yu himself?

The man found himself pacing back and forth, and he put a hand to his head. The last thing he needed was this unnecessary worry. He had put Sun Shang Xiang on watch for Xun, for he knew that although she wasn't such of a nurse type like Da Qiao was, she had taken care of him before when he was injured. In his mind, the two were slightly closer than Da anyway, and hopefully all would be well soon enough. He kept the idea of the looming paperwork out of his mind for the time being, knowing that Sun Jian had faith in his younger son, Quan to work on things if Xun was unable to. Quan was qualified, though slightly less so than Xun, if Zhou Yu had any say. He just hoped that nothing else would go wrong while he took his leave.

Zhou Yu had had more time to speak with the younger Qiao lately, but she hadn't yet opened up to him, as she wouldn't talk unless it was completely necessary. Yu had noticed that she had stopped putting up so much guard lately, probably because she had no time to be worrying about anything of the sort when she needed to get ready to train the others.

A faint smile flitted over Yu's face as he recalled catching her one of the days when she had been training outdoors. He said nothing to her that time, simply walking past her as if it was the most normal event he had ever seen. It just wasn't worth commenting. He had felt her eyes boring into his back, and heard her huff as she wandered off to finish doing what she assumed he had been sent to tell her to do. She was most definitely not dainty, but he suspected that it was her childish charm which he had found rather attractive. This was rather odd indeed for such character as a ladies man, but Yu dismissed the stereotype calmly. It was the last idea of distraction that he really needed.

--

Sun Shang Xiang sat across from her friend's sleeping form, quietly fussing in her mind. Everyone had been quite busy lately, and even she hadn't had time to be checking up on any of her friends. She admitted that she hadn't expected that Xun would be feeling so ill. True, he had a lot of work to do, but then again, he always did. Zhou Yu had looked uncharacteristically worried as well, which didn't help lighten the mood at all for her. She knew that Yu was busy though, and any delays to help Ce in the other training ground would mess everyone's schedules up rather painfully...which was part of the reason why she had been so agreeable when he asked for her to watch Xun. The other part was, well, just being able to stay near him. But, as all stubborn princesses seemed to be, she wouldn't admit that.

Shang Xiang sighed, glancing down at the young strategist, who seemed peacefully oblivious about everything. Xiang herself had much to do, for her standing always proved to give her unnecessary work every so often, but she had received permission from Sun Jian to take as long as was necessary to help nurse her friend back to health. She suspected the only thing that was truly wrong with him was his lack of sleep and perhaps food as well, so she wasn't expecting that it would take too long for his recovery. Or at least so she hoped.

Slowly, almost subconsciously, she leaned forward, pushing a strand of deep brown hair from his face. A surge of warmth filled her palm and she frowned, placing it down on the young man's forehead. Sure enough, he had signs of a fever. She immediately left, returning shortly with a wet washcloth to place on his head, and she shook her head a little. Xiang had to admire his resolve, at the very least. Even though he had ended up collapsing of fatigue, Zhou Yu had let her know that he had finished his job at least up until the moment, and that it would be good to let him relax at least until Ce returned. Sun Quan would have enough knowledge to work out what was yet to be done, and Yu would send along paperwork with him for further instructions.

A day and a half passed, but Shang Xiang barely noticed, drifting in and out of sleep herself, but always keeping herself quite alert in case something should happen out of the ordinary. Xiao Qiao came to visit a couple of times, but each time she was called out for preparations, and sadly rushed off, making sure to remind Sun Shang Xiang to take care of him. The princess didn't need her friend's reminders, but knowing that they were giving Xiao some comfort, she endured them anyway.

Zhou Yu came in to notify her of his leave, and she thought she saw a faint frown reappear on his face as he spotted her. When he left, she made her way to the mirror to see if something was wrong with her, and she frowned as well, rubbing at her tired eyes. She wasn't planning on leaving her spot though, even though occasionally a guard or maiden servant would walk in to present her food and ask if she would like for someone to take over. Each time she would refuse, attempting a smile, which she knew was starting to fail at the second and third day, as each time the servants came in, they left looking more unsure than they did when they entered.

At the very least, Xiang was glad to know that her friend's temperature had finally lowered by the third day. She leaned over to nibble from a small plate of food that she kept handy just in case that he would wake and be hungry. She herself felt no hunger at all, but she needed to be doing _something_ or else she felt her worry would overtake her. A yawn escaped her lips, and she knew that she would have to doze again, which she did, dreaming of complete nothingness.

--

Da Qiao on the other hand, felt rather guilty about her happiness as she knew that Sun Ce would return that day. She had heard that Lu Xun had fallen ill, which made her feel badly that she wouldn't be able to nurse him back to health, but when she heard that Lady Sun would be there to do such, her heart eased a little. Her little sister would be gone for quite some time, though, and she couldn't help but sink back to a frown a few times when she knew that she wouldn't be seeing her happy expression for quite some time. She just hoped that everything would work out at the other campground.

The elder Qiao was the first to greet Sun Ce when he returned, squeezing through the men and rushing over to his side, her pigtails bobbing up and down happily. To her surprise, she saw that he had returned with another figure along with the other officers; one that she had known very little of, due to the distance of the other campground. The large cloak and helmet were signal enough about who this man was, and she backed away just slightly, sending this newcomer a timid smile. If it was one of the Wu generals who she hadn't really taken much of a liking to, it would be this one. Sun Ce seemed to notice her hesitation and immediately leaned over to the other general, giving him a friendly slap on the back. "Hey, Da," he said, "This is Zhou Tai, I know you've seen him around some time, haven't you?"

Da bowed her head politely. "A pleasure to see you, Lord Zhou Tai."

The only response she could hear was a low mutter from the other general. She lifted her questioning gaze toward Ce, who explained, "Pops told me to grab Quan a bodyguard of sorts. And well, out of all those guys, it seems Tai's one of the best. We kept Lu Meng there to make sure the others won't be suffering from lack of power though," he added in to try and be of comfort.

Da simply sent the two a serene smile, hiding one trembling hand behind her back to keep herself from jumping up with joy. It mattered little about what had happened, she knew, as long as her lord had returned safely.

Soon enough, the others had gathered, which made Da have to move aside, and she settled with waiting patiently at the sidelines for Sun Ce to finish speaking to the others.

--

Xiao Qiao had taken exactly a day and three hours to get used to the second campground. She heartily romped around for some time, running around to make sure that she knew exactly where everything was and who everyone was and everything else she needed to do. In reality, she was making sure that she would always have a safe hiding spot in case something happened, but that much she wasn't ready to admit yet. Zhou Yu had taken over command for as long as necessary, with the aid of Lu Meng, who indeed was keeping up the moral whenever something went wrong. Xiao had really never paid attention to half of the generals around here, with the inclusion of Lu Meng, and she felt a small sort of appreciation for the others who were trying their best just like they were at the basecamp. Xiao unhappily ended up having to cater to some of the elder fighters, and everywhere she went she could feel eyes upon her, making her rather uncomfortable.

"At this rate I'd be better off just being near Zhou Yu," she muttered to herself, pouting and taking a seat at exactly three days and five hours into her stay at the camp. She wondered if the others were alright, especially considering that Lu Xun had fallen ill a while back. If she had known that it was because of all of the paperwork the strategist was sent to do, she would have immediately pinned the blame on a certain long haired Wu officer (who also happened to be nearby), but she didn't. She wished that she had been able to at least make sure that he was feeling better. She _had_ visited a few times, but each time Xun was still sleeping, looking no better but no worse than he had any other time. Once, Xiao was tempted to go and ask Sun Shang Xiang about how she felt about the lovesick young man, but she barely managed to keep her mouth shut. However much she wanted to come to his aid, it was probably not a good idea to do so when he wasn't feeling his best.

Xiao knew that she was rather stuck in the situation she was in now, though, and almost jumped when she saw a meatbun being held under her nose. She immediately turned toward the owner of it, and was just about to rush off when her stomach rumbled. She looked down a little, and Zhou Yu shook his head.

"It's not poisoned, if that's what you're worrying about. If you're worrying about my staying while you eat, I can leave as well."

The young Qiao felt a faint blush appear on her cheeks even though she tried her best to keep it away. "....you're sure it's safe?" she asked finally, looking up toward him and trying to keep a blaze in her eyes to prevent him from advancing further.

"Relatively," he stated, which made her raise an eyebrow. "If you want me to test it, I could take a bite before you, though." he added in, which caused her to snatch the bun from his hands.

"I--if I get sick, this is all going to be your fault, okay?"

He surprised her yet again when he shot her a smile, not guarded like she normally saw. She barely noticed as she returned it timidly, eagerly munching on the food.

--

Sun Ce noticed the odd expression that crossed the elder Qiao's face when she spotted his fellow officer beside him, and as the crowd cleared, leaving the two alone, he tilted his head. Ce excused himself as well, wondering if Zhou Tai's appearance had frightened Da for a moment. He was an ex-pirate like Gan Ning, which probably added to his menacing aura, but to Ce, Tai was just another warrior; more than qualified enough to be sent to guard his younger brother. He was glad when he spotted Da awaiting him, and as he walked, she joined him, purposely trailing a few feet away. Ce finally paused, allowing her to catch up and walk at his side. "Well," he said, keeping casual, "What's up? You look beautiful as usual."

He could see the blush on her cheeks as she bowed her head slightly. "I am glad that you're back safely, my lord."

"Yeah, me too," he admitted. "Everyone in the other camp's doing well, though. It won't take too long before Xiao's back, so don't worry too much, alright?"

Da Qiao nodded, raising her gaze toward his to send him her sweet smile. He pushed himself to keep walking and not freeze in place in admiration. "I thank you for worrying about me...and the same holds true for Lord Zhou Yu, correct?"

Ce nodded slightly, then frowned when Sun Quan passed by, looking rather disturbed and trying his best to keep a stack of papers from falling out of his arms. Ce greeted him with a grin, catching a falling leaflet and putting it back in his brother's arms. Quan instantly brightened. "Father wants to talk to you," he stated, then nodded his acknowledgement toward the trailing Qiao.

"Right," Sun Ce stated, as he began to wonder why his brother was wandering around carrying so many pieces of paper. The last time he checked he could have sworn that Yu had left such a task to Lu Xun and not Quan.

His expression apparently betrayed his confusion, as Quan added in, "Shang Xiang is taking care of Lu Xun right now in his room. He apparently collapsed a few days ago due to fatigue."

Ce lifted an eyebrow, now wondering why in China his sister would be taking time off to do such a thing. If anyone, Da Qiao was most qualified. He glanced toward the young pigtailed woman next to him, and shook his head. At least it prevented him from having less time with the object of his affection. Slowly, it began to dawn on him. If he could have remembered correctly, Shang Xiang _had_ mentioned that she was interested in someone else other than Zhou Yu, though Ce had stubbornly ignored such commentary... could that possibly be...

Sun Ce scratched his head sheepishly. His sister's love life was the last thing he had to be worrying about, he knew, as his eyes went toward the Qiao again as Quan chatted. First of all he had his _own_ love life to grasp a hold of!

Which quietly brought him to excuse himself and Da Qiao from his brother and for him to at least attempt to arrange a meeting with the young woman later on after he was finished speaking to his father.

--

Lu Xun felt exhausted when he awoke, managing barely enough strength to turn his head slightly to eye his surroundings. He was apparently in his room, which wasn't abnormal at the least, but as he quietly checked whatever was on his forehead--a washcloth?-- he noted there had to be something wrong. Slowly, he turned the other direction and almost jumped when he spotted the Wu princess sitting beside him, seeming to be asleep. Her face was lowered and she was using the side of his bed to keep balance on her seat as she slept.

It slowly dawned on Xun that he had fallen ill, and he let out a soft sigh. Had the young woman been beside him while he was sleeping? How long had he been sleeping?

Xun frowned, feeling his thoughts bogged down by the prospect of another few moments of sleep. Shaking this away, he moved to sit up, taking the bulk of his strength and forcing himself to pause and breathe deep breaths to slow his quickening heart rate. He slowly put a hand to his forehead, and he could feel it burn, though he felt fine. Xun knew the cause of this almost sick-like feeling had nothing to do with his status of health; he had managed to sleep off his fever at the very least; but it had something to do with the young woman who was still quietly resting beside him. Scratch that. It had _everything_ to do with her. He almost regretted having to wake her, but she was a busy woman and he would much rather her be able to sleep in the comfort of her own room. He leaned over, then tested his voice. "Lady Sun?" No, too quiet. "Lady Sun?"

That seemed to do the trick and she was awake in a flash, her eyes narrowed for a moment. He recognized it as the warrior's instinct, making sure that the area was safe before preceding. She visibly jumped upon seeing him, which made him pull back in surprise. The tenseness from her form completely dropped and he felt his face warm further as her eyes lit up. "Xun, you're awake! Are you alright? Feeling better?"

Lu Xun gave a sheepish nod, knowing that it would be a while before she would get calm enough to explain what had happened. A plate was almost instantly thrust in front of him, and before he could realize what was happening he was being spoon-fed, an activity of the sort which made him feel rather childish and embarrassed. Xiao Qiao had done it to him before, teasingly playing mother, but other than that he hadn't had to go through the torture. He simply stayed silent as Sun Shang Xiang began to chat incessantly as though she hadn't been able to speak for the last century. Once she had exhausted all amounts of speech from her system, her expression turned rather serious, and she tilted her head.

"Xun?" she asked, her voice quiet as she put aside the now empty plate in her hands.

The young man tilted his head as he adjusted his position, sitting at the edge of his bed. "Yes?" he responded, keeping his gaze lowered in hopes that it would mask his embarrassment again.

"..I'm glad you're alright."

Lu Xun glanced toward the Wu princess, surprised to see her eyes were casted down as well, looking toward her hands which were entwined between themselves. He nodded, quietly expressing his gratitude.


	12. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Xiao Qiao took note that she did not get sick a few minutes later after she had rushed off and taken her leave from a certain long haired man. Zhou Yu seemed to be being sincere, she finally decided, and wondered if he was possibly going to stop bothering her as he did before.

In her dreams.

She sighed, putting a hand to her head and then pouting as she paced back and forth, stopping only when she spotted Lu Meng heading in her direction. Meng seemed as surprised as her when he saw her and he nodded his head toward her. His hair was bushy, she noted, and wondered how in China he got it to be so messy. Not to mention that he was unshaven and looked kind of dirty in her honest opinion. "Lady Qiao," he greeted her with something close to a grunt.

"Hi," she said simply, trying to figure out how she was supposed to act in front of this man. Instinctively, she fidgeted in her spot, unable to keep still. Truth be told, she barely corresponded with any of the generals one on one from this camp. She had heard the share of rumors about Meng's strength and charisma, but looking at him, he looked, well... more than plain. She knew it wasn't a good idea to judge a book by its cover, but...

Meng scratched his head sheepishly, almost as though he could read her thoughts. "I overheard that you've been of a lot of help in the other camp," he said.

Had she? Xiao pondered to herself. She hadn't done anything spectacular to her knowledge. It was probably just Zhou Yu boasting again. Not like whatever _she_ did was to _his_ advantage anyway! Ugh.

"I heard a few rumors about you too," Xiao decided to say, her voice cheery. "I dunno, but you don't look as special as you're supposed to be."

Hey, no one said she couldn't speak her mind.

Lu Meng didn't seem surprised at this either and instead laughed. "Yeah, I get that a lot." he admitted.

The younger Qiao watched one of the soldiers pause and call Lu Meng aside, and they both parted, Xiao wondering what the whole conversation was about. She was slightly tempted to ask Yu what he had been saying to the other generals about her- but she didn't want to talk to him unless it was absolutely necessary.

She didn't like talking to him anyway. Even _if_ he had seemed somewhat normal when he had handed her that meatbun. It must have been out of courtesy. Zhou Yu obviously couldn't be chasing her around if she had died of hunger at least!

Pouting again, she made her way to the gathering place, happy to note that the other generals seemed to have dispersed and left the place to herself. "I wonder how the others are." she commented quietly, her mind specifically wandering to her older sister and then Lu Xun. Hopefully the young strategist was doing better.

She jumped when she heard the sound of footsteps starting in her direction and immediately decided to hide behind the nearest pillar she could find, grateful for her petite form which allowed her space. Zhou Yu was walking over, distractedly chatting with one of the soldiers she didn't recognize. The man's face was complete seriousness, a faint tinge of worry sketched in his eyebrows. The Qiao leaned forward to try and catch a few words here and there.

--

"Alright." Zhou Yu stated, his expression lightening slightly. According to reports, Sun Quan had had just a little difficulty with his paperwork but with the aid of one other, he was able to do as fine of a job as Xun was- in accordance to this particular messenger. In Yu's mind, he figured that Xun would have been much more qualified, if he had just not fallen ill. He would have to remember to lighten the load from the young man's shoulders to make sure it would not happen again. As the messenger scurried off, he paused, hearing a slight crunch from his side.

Instantly, he was on guard. A spy? In the middle of their camp? Impossible-

His guard broke when he spotted a familiar pigtail sticking out from the other side of a pillar. "Lady Xiao," he started, squatting and shaking his head beside her. "What are you doing back here?"

"Uhh, well, um, I lost something back here, so I was just um, looking for it, so um, yeah Ihavetagonowokaybye!"

Zhou Yu blinked a few times as the girl ran off as though she was being chased by a lion. She sure was an odd girl, he knew. Sometimes he wondered why she had been the one that he had ended up harvesting so much attraction toward. She was a mere girl in comparison to so many of the other women, but her innocence in such prospects must have had something to do with it. A faint smile crossed the man's face. Ages ago, he had simply thought that if she would only give him a few minutes to chat that he could woo her over. Apparently this wasn't the case.

Taking a seat, he took in a deep breath. He had many other things to concentrate on, but whenever he was taking a break, Xiao Qiao happened to dance around in his mind as well. Which brought him to wonder what happened Ce. He had _plenty_ of time to himself and Da now, and if he wasn't taking his chances now, Yu doubted he ever would. That and he would be sure to laugh at his friend as well. Not that Ce couldn't just as well laugh back at the situation that Zhou Yu was in. He shook his head. He had never had problems dealing with women before. What was it that he was doing wrong?

--

Sun Shang Xiang dismissed herself a few moments after Lu Xun had risen. One of the servants had called to her, saying that her brother and the others had returned. Xun seemed understanding enough and she promised that she would return as soon as she was done speaking with Ce. When she spotted her brother, they exchanged quick hugs. "How was the camp?"

"Ah, they're doing as well as ever," Ce responded, a grin touching his face. "Miss me?"

She laughed a bit, poking his forehead. "Of course not!" A sly look crossed her expression, "But I'm sure I know _someone_ who did."

Shang Xiang didn't miss the faint blush that crossed her elder brother's cheeks. Da Qiao was nowhere to be seen, and she wondered why the Qiao wasn't trailing after him like a lost puppydog. Then again, it was dinner time and she was probably helping the other women prepare food. Sun Ce's expression darkened faintly.

"I heard what happened to Xun," Ce stated.

"Oh, he's fine now," she said, "He's been sleeping for a few days straight."

"Maaan, I wanna sleep for a few days straight too," he joked, "We've been training like crazy the last week."

The young woman wasn't surprised in the least. When Sun Ce went training, he went _training_. Then again, the man had enough energy to run a mill by himself. "Did you talk to Dad?"

"Pops? Yeah," Ce rolled his eyes. "Didn't get a chance to see Zhou Yu or Xiao so that was kind of a bummer."

"They'll be back soon enough."

"Yeah."

Xiang noticed his nervous glance behind himself and shook her head. "Have someone waiting for you?" she teased.

"Actually I'm supposed to be escorting Zhou Tai soon," Sun Ce admitted.

Sun Shang Xiang blinked a few times. She was by no means familiar with this particular swordsman but his name was well-known. "He's here too?"

"Quan's new bodyguard." Ce responded easily. "He looks it, don't you think?"

The Sun siblings exchanged grins. Sure, Tai was very menacing looks wise, but Xiang had also heard that he was really a big softy. She wouldn't know herself though. Her connections were limited to basically all those who were in the main campground, not the other. Sun Ce excused himself after a while, allowing her to start back toward the room with Xun present in it. Lu Xun was exactly where she had left him, and he lifted his gaze sheepishly when she entered the room. Apparently, he had been lost in his thoughts. It must have allowed time for him to pass by quickly. The young man nodded his head once in acknowledgement, then lowered his gaze significantly.

--

Lu Xun didn't feel at all comfortable with the Wu princess taking a seat across from him again, but he didn't mention it. With his luck, she could sense his discomfort, and he was struggling to keep himself from feeling embarrassed. His tendency to blush easily was rather unnerving.

"You feeling okay?"

He blinked a few times when she lifted her hand up to touch his forehead. He could have sworn upon his life that he had no fever, but his face burned with the touch. "I-I'm alright." he managed to say, casting his gaze down again.

He was as alright as he could be, considering how he had fallen ill at such an important time. Xun was most definitely unhappy with himself. With his sickness he had caused the majority of the Sun family trouble. Sun Jian would more than likely be disappointed; Sun Quan had an extra pile of paperwork; Sun Shang Xiang herself had to waste her time to take care of him- and more than likely Sun Ce had heard about what happened. He frowned to himself. While Sun Shang Xiang had left the room, he had been granted plenty of time to think about what had happened. One of the servants had come by to tell him that all was well and that he should not worry, but he couldn't keep the bad feeling away. He had been nothing more to them than a burden in the past few days, and he needed to repay them for his lack of service.

"Okay," Shang Xiang was saying, her expression oddly cheery. He knew that she had gone off to talk to her brother, and thought maybe he had said something to cheer her up. Sun Ce had enough charisma to get anyone high-spirited. "But you don't look too good."

Lu Xun shook his head sheepishly. "I'm just a little tired, I guess." He sighed to himself. No, he wasn't tired at all. He had been sleeping for the last who knew how long. He was just, well, feeling unhappy. He frowned a bit when she stood up.

"If you want some more sleep, I can leave."

"N-no, that's alright," he immediately said, feeling his face warm again when she raised an eyebrow. He figured she had more important things to be doing than watching over him, but since she was his friend she would never admit to this. "E...erm, but if you'd like to leave, then I won't stop you."

"Okay. I'll stay here then." she attempted a sheepish grin. "At least until dinner's ready."

"Alright."

The young man felt both happy and nervous at the same time. How was he supposed to keep her entertained until dinner time? He had little to say. She didn't seem like she was planning on saying much either. He sighed, then shook his head. How much more worthless could he get? He couldn't even start small talk with his friend. For once, he wished it was Xiao Qiao that was across from him. She always knew how to spark up a conversation.

Lu Xun kept his eyes on the Wu princess for a very long, silent time before he finally spoke.

--

Sun Ce let out a slow yawn. He had allowed Tai to go wander around on his own and then heard later that he had been sparring with Gan Ning, who had drunkenly challenged him. He wasn't really surprised and was tempted to go watch them spar himself but he was too tired to bother. Instead he started to the dining area, where Da Qiao and a few servants were getting ready for dinner. She had seemed somewhat surprised to see him but said nothing besides how dinner would be ready in a moment, so he could stay as he pleased. His whole body ached. It hadn't been a problem until he had finally had time to rest, and he realized he must have been pushing himself a little more than intended. Ce was surprisingly so absorbed in this concept that he barely heard someone take a seat next to him. "Yo, Ce, welcome back!"

Immediately, he had to brace himself for the pats on the back given to him by Huang Gai. He hid his cringe as his friend moved aside. When he pat, he sure did _pat_. Or more like thwack. Then again what else could one expect from a man with such a large muscular frame? "Thanks, pal," Ce said, giving Gai a grin. He hadn't seen Gai for a while, and it made him feel better than the man had taken time off of his training to come and visit. Huang had gone to the other camp several times, which explained his absence in the main camp, but his section was actually suited near the Wu royalty.

Gai gave a hearty laugh. "You don't look so swell. Feeling alright?" Sun Ce nodded, to which Gai laughed once more. "Always the tough guy." the larger man commented.

"Yeah, yeah."

The men sat quietly for some time, Ce feeling Huang's gaze upon him. Although he was trying his best to keep his tired state hidden from the others, Gai was more than knowledgeable of what he had done and how his actions usually were.

"Reckless," Gai summed it up, standing and brushing himself off. He had stood just in time to catch Da Qiao entering from the other room with a large plate. A few servants were trailing along behind her, and he immediately saluted them with a semi-humored glance. "I see it's time for our little prince's dinner."

"Not staying around?"

"Naaah." Huang Gai stated, stretching a bit and turning back to the younger man. "I'll let you eat dinner in peace. I got a few more things to do before I can eat anyway. Gotta go greet Quan's new bodyguard and all."

As the man left, Ce turned his gaze to the young women who were busily setting up the table. Catching Da's glance once, the two exchanged smiles and waited for the others to dismiss themselves.

--

Da Qiao nodded as the other women excused themselves to return to their duties. Usually she would have gone with them, but they all knew that since it was Ce's return from the other camp, she was allowed a little extra time to stay and serve him. This time, it was her turn to see her Lord's discomfort.

"Are you feeling alright, my lord?" she spoke, her voice quiet.

Ce's eyes shot up toward her gaze almost immediately, a mixture of confusion and warmth both present in his dark orbs. "Ahh, I'm fine. Just a tad tired, that's all." he finally admitted.

"You should rest earlier tonight then."

"Maybe."

Da watched as he shifted a few paces back, getting himself comfortable on the wood floor.

Wait...wood floor?

She was immediately to her feet, glancing around timidly for the usual cloth coverings that the others were supposed to sit on. In her haste, she had forgotten to set them up. Before she could apologize, Ce shook his head, a lopsided grin on his face. "So glad I'm back that you forgot the seats, huh?" he teased, making her face warm slightly.

The young woman scuttled over to the area where the pillows were laid, and right before she could pick one up, she felt his arm move around her waist and watched his hand pluck the cloth-seat from her hand. He kept his arm still for a moment, then released her, wandering back to his seat after laying the pillow down on the floor. It took her a while to recover from the initial shock of the movement, considering that the two had only hugged once or twice before. Slowly, she returned to her previous spot, laying down her own cloth to kneel on. Lifting her gaze almost timidly toward the man, she noticed the grin was still remaining on his expression. To her surprise, it slowly disappeared, replaced with a look of faint concern. Noting her own expression through his brown orbs, she shook her head. "My apologies," she said, directing her statement toward the un-sheeted pillows.

To her relief, the grin made its way back to his face. "Ah, don't worry about it."

The two sat quietly for some time, until Ce finally glanced down toward the table, as if he had just noticed the food prepared for him. The young woman watched him eat, a slight sense of pride welling up inside of her when she noted that he was enjoying it. She was a great cook, after all, and it was one of the only aspects that she would visibly show she was proud of.

The thumbs up he gave her after he ate was more than enough to let her know that she had done a more than satisfactory job preparing food yet again for her lord. Even when the man had to excuse himself to retire for the night, she could feel the genuine smile touching her face. Like they had done before he had left, they were planning on a small meeting later that night before it was time for them to sleep. Although she was obviously concerned about his tired state, he had reassured her that he'd make the meeting short. That, and the young woman had a small hunch that the stars that night would be extra beautiful.


	13. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Sun Shang Xiang felt Xun's eyes on her form for a while, and when they finally dropped, she raised her own, untangling her hands and leaning back a little. Stifling a yawn, she moved to rise from her seat when she heard his voice quietly murmur something.

The young woman turned back toward him, attentively. "Did you say something, Xun?"

His gaze was to the floor and he didn't raise his voice, forcing her to move forward to try and catch his words. A frown came across her face as she caught them this time. They were soft and grieving, and he shook his head as he spoke, "I caused everyone trouble, didn't I?"

She was ready to deny the statement when he continued.

"I know that you're busy because of your status, and Zhou Yu had put his faith in me about my work...Lord Sun Jian even visited me once to praise me as well, and in the end I let you all down."

Sun Shang Xiang watched quietly as he bowed his head and finished:

"I'm so sorry..."

It took her a moment before she stood up, moving over a bit and kneeling down toward him. In the position she ended in, she was just slightly taller than his sitting form, and she leaned a little, putting a hand lightly on the back of his head and pushing it toward herself, allowing him to rest his head on her shoulder. She wasn't at all surprised at his blush, and although he had tensed for a moment, he relaxed soon afterwards, taking slow, deep breaths.

She could feel the air stir upon her ear and let out a slow sigh herself. "Don't worry, Xun," she stated, feeling almost like an older sister. "We don't expect you to overwork that much either." Xiang turned slightly to look toward him. "Next time take it easy, okay?"

She felt him nod beside her and she smiled faintly, happily holding onto her friend. It was the first time that the two had been so close and she felt that it was rather nice, though both were slightly guarded with unspoken doubts. Shang Xiang's gaze stayed on the young man's form for some time, then drifted, pausing at the window. To her surprise she could see Gan Ning sparring with the newcomer Wu general, Zhou Tai. (Wasn't Ce supposed to be escorting Tai around? That slowpoke!) She felt a faint smile appear on her face, thinking about her older brother. He never changed in that respect-- always running around doing this and that and barely ever doing anything on time.

Sun Shang Xiang had to admit that Zhou Tai was more than a match for Ning, who for once seemed almost sober. ...almost.

Suddenly, she felt Xun tense, and was just about to move away when she felt one of his arms lift, moving to her back.

"Xun?" she asked quietly, running a hand through the shaky strategist's hair.

Lu Xun simply shook his head and she kept him close to her, waiting for his feelings to subside. There was no way that she would let him go when he was still feeling like a failure, that was for sure. Of course, it would be also nice if she just didn't have to let go in general, but that was completely out of the question. As long as she had a reason to hold him, she would take the privilege.

--

The young man frowned slightly when he noticed Sun Shang Xiang's gaze pause at the window. He had heard his share of rumors about Tai even before he had seen him, which was a long time ago. He couldn't blame Xiang for watching the practice duel between him and Ning. For just a slight moment he felt something tug near his heart--was it jealousy?--no, couldn't be--but what was that odd smile that appeared on her face? He dismissed it with a soft sigh, shutting his eyes and raising his arm up to the princess' back. He felt her form stiffen slightly, then bring him just a touch closer.

It was true that he had been causing the Sun family trouble, this much he knew, but her denial at least had made him feel slightly better. He knew that he would simply try harder and make up for it later. Yu would most definitely be disappointed, that was completely certain. Lu Xun caught another sigh from escaping his mouth and slowly removed his head from the young woman's shoulder. Not because he particularly wanted to, but because it seemed somewhat indecent for the two to be overly close. He knew, with a sinking heart, that she had simply held him to make him feel better with a strictly friendly intent.

The sigh escaped his lips this time and he lowered his arm from her form, looking up toward her expectantly. He could feel the blush reappearing on his face as her distracted gaze slowly focused on him. "You know," she started, her voice barely over a whisper.

Xun blinked twice, waiting for her to continue. Figuring that she was waiting for an acknowledgment, he added in, "Hrm?"

To his disbelief, she leaned over a little, brushing her lips against his forehead quickly before finishing, "You've grown up to be a better guy than you give yourself credit to."

A teasing grin appeared on her face and she pulled away, standing again and giving him a pat on the head--which also made him wonder where they had put his hat. A glance around let him know that throughout the time it had been next to him on a table but he had been too distracted to even notice. Trying not to look too suspicious, he grabbed it, holding it in his hands like a child holds a teddy bear. It took the whole movement for the words to process in his mind, and when they did, he felt his face warm once again.

"But--" he started.

She cut him off. "You're following well in the steps of Zhou Yu. I mean, even the fire and all." Another grin. Was she kidding with him? She paused, and he blinked, watching carefully as she moved forward and leaned slightly so she could look into his face. "I think everyone else would agree too. You're a great strategist, Xun. We're happy to have you on our side."

For once, the young man was able to keep his gaze on her without faltering, and he could tell her words were genuine simply by looking into her eyes. A faint smile appeared on his face, and she took it as a cue to step back again, stretching before she spoke once more. "So, cheer up, all right?"

Lu Xun nodded faintly, but the smile faded when he thought he caught a small whisper from the young woman as well.

_"I'm sorry Xiao wasn't here for you instead."_

Before he could say anything, there was a knock on the door, calling upon the Wu princess, who sheepishly excused herself with an apology on how she couldn't stay longer, and he was left alone in the room, pondering about what in China that phrase could have meant.

--

It was a few moments after Da Qiao had finished clearing up the table that she noticed how late it had gotten. She felt as exhausted as all of the others, as she had been busily cleaning and cooking and being introduced and reintroduced to some of the recently moved officers. Of course, she wasn't one to complain, so instead excused herself from the dining area and started back to her room. She took in a deep breath, taking care to knock on Lu Xun's room to check up on his condition before returning. Her room reminded her faintly of her sister, and when she glanced at her mirror, she found an uncharacteristic frown placed on her pretty face. :Xiao should be just fine: she reminded herself, and she nodded once, happy to note the frown fade and become replaced by an almost cheery smile.

One glance outside noted that it was time to meet her lord, and when she exited her room, she found Sun Ce, Gan Ning, and Zhou Tai gathered not too far away. Not wishing to interrupt their conversation, she stood silently in her doorway, waiting for them to acknowledge her presence. Ning was talking animatedly, waving his hands this way and that and barely missing Tai's shoulder every so often. Ce was giving constant nods and grins, which was something that Da grew used to seeing. Tai on the other hand was simply standing, almost like a looming shadow, and the older Qiao thought that she could see him glance around every so often, as if he was suspecting an ambush at any moment. She decided to leave it as a warrior's instinct, as she had not gone into battle half as much as these men had. That, and moving to another camp for semi-permanence may be hard to adjust to.

It didn't take too much time for them to notice her, and Ce waved her over, shooting her one of his trademark grins. Da Qiao immediately bowed her head slightly when she arrived to their position. "I hope that I'm not interrupting anything...?"

Gan Ning was the one who responded, shrugging a bit, "We were just wrapping everything up anyway. Come on, Tai, let's leave the two lovebirds alone, eh?"

Da felt her face redden slightly and by the look on Ce's face, she knew that it wasn't that he had said anything to them to hint it. She wondered if they were really so obvious. She had always known to keep a good eye on the others, but never really found out if anyone was doing the same about herself or Ce, for that matter. Zhou Tai just gave a stiff nod, following Gan Ning as he gave a humored wave in Sun Ce's direction before wandering off.

Once the two were alone, Da couldn't help but tilt her head. "We didn't have to meet today if you were so busy."

Ce immediately shook his head. "Ah, don't worry about it."

The Qiao watched as he turned, leading the way back outside.

"You know I'd rather spend my time with you then anyone else anytime."

The young woman felt her face burn a second time, and she simply sent him a smile when he turned to make sure that she wasn't running away from him by then. Truthfully, she found it funny that he was able to say all of these oddly sentimental things, yet never be able to speak the three words she had thought she had heard him speak just a while back. She knew that it would come, eventually. Or perhaps, she didn't _know_, but hoped. Almost instinctively, her pace sped up slightly and she took one of his hands in both of hers

--

Sun Ce paused when he felt the young woman's hands take his, and he blinked twice, checking to see if something was wrong. Da, on the other hand, kept her gaze in front of her, as if the movement was nothing out of the ordinary. :That's right, Ce: he reminded himself:It's not out of the ordinary for couples to be holding hands.:

Then, the grim reality reminded him that they were not quite officially a couple yet, due to how he had failed to ask a most dire question many times back. Sneaking another look at the older Qiao, he cursed himself inwardly. Sun Ce the little conquerer, Wu's prince and next in command, and he couldn't even talk to a woman? Pathetic.

At least, that would be how some of the other officers would take it, he reminded himself with a sheepish grin. By that time, they had exited to their spot outside, and Da finally spoke.

"There are a lot of stars out tonight..."

Sun Ce nodded, moving over to lean lazily against a tree. The weather was rather warm, even for night, so he didn't have to worry about freezing this time.

"I hope the other camp is doing all right..."

Ce turned back toward Da, not knowing himself that his expression changed into one of concern toward her. "Yeah... well, Zhou Yu and Xiao Qiao's probably taking care of things as well as I'd be if I was there. Naaah, they're probably doing better than me. I know Yu'll be." he paused, then sheepishly scratched his head, "No offense to your sister, of course."

Da Qiao simply nodded, "Xiao _is_ growing older, though, so I suppose she should be fine as well. I trust that Zhou Yu will make sure she stays out of mischief."

If he wasn't the one causing it, was what Sun Ce wanted to say, but to spare the topic, he stayed silent.

"Hmmm... so _this_ is where our brother goes at night," a familiar voice chimed out, giggling. "I didn't think he liked stargazing."

Sun Ce turned to find both his brother and sister standing a few paces from them. Sun Shang Xiang grinned, and Ce shook his head. "What are you guys doing up now?"

"We could ask the same about you two," Sun Quan added in. He tipped his head toward Da, who bowed her acknowledgment.

"If you wish us not to be outside so late at night--" the Qiao started, but Quan shook his head.

"Don't worry about it." he gestured toward the two, "Go back to whatever you were doing. We just came out here for a breath of fresh air."

Sun Ce watched them as they trailed away, looking rather suspicious. Once they were out of earshot, he muttered, "Breath of fresh air...that was more like obviously spying on us!"

To this, Da let out a small chuckle, "Why would anyone wish to do something like that?"

Ce sighed, as his pride was grating on him at the time being, and something told him that from then on, trying to get private time with anyone outside was not a smart thing to do. Before he could suggest moving to another area, the young woman spoke, her voice soft and sweet, as he so often recalled when she was not around, "You must be tired, my lord. I don't wish to keep you up too much longer."

"Y--yeah," Ce said, unable to think of an excuse to delay her. "You're right." He stepped away slowly, then turned toward her, blurting out the first thing that came to his mind. "Hey, tomorrow night, you can come by to my room instead of meeting here."

It took a while for the words to register to either of them, and as soon as he figured out what he had said, Ce kicked himself. Hard. It took all of his strength to prevent himself from crying out in pain and instead he casually leaned down, putting a hand to his knee and rubbing it. "Well, uh, I mean, since it's more private there, and..."

:Even better, Ce: he told himself, figuring with a sinking heart that she would think he had intentions that he didn't have. Or at least, he didn't think he had. Or at least, he didn't have before he thought about it. Or... well, screw it. The whole phrase was wrong. It sounds about as cool and composed as someone saying "Hey. Wanna come over to my place tomorrow night?" Wink wink. Nudge nudge. Then again, it wasn't like he hadn't just said the same thing with different wording. Minus the winking. And the nudging. Please.

Ce figured he must have looked rather awkward, as Da suddenly burst out in laughter; not held back as she usually was, but for once out of complete amusement. She clamped one hand over her mouth after a moment, almost as if she was remembering that she was supposed to be the mature young woman she always showed herself to be, but then lost to her humor. Ce slowly joined in, feeling both stupid and sheepish, not knowing whether he was laughing at her or at his own words or at his own pitiful self as he saw it. Once the two recovered, he noticed a small twinkle of mirth in Da's eyes as she nodded.

"If that would suit you better, my lord, then I will."

He didn't know whether to feel embarrassed or just happy. She was the only young woman that he could think of who wouldn't make fun of him for that for a couple of ages.

Only problem was that his room was an utter mess... Ce hid a gulp as he escorted the Qiao back to her own room. That sure will make a great first impression.

--

It felt like a century had passed for Zhou Yu, although it had only been a few hours. The men at the other camp were very disciplined--almost to the extent that it was hard to have any casual talk. Not that he really enjoyed much idle talk with the exception of speaking with Ce, of course. The only exceptions to this rule was Lu Meng and Ling Tong, who had just about returned from training and had loudly protested being anywhere near Gan Ning unless he had permission to pick a fight on him every so often. Being as it was rightly annoying to have the two bickering, in the end they just were placed into separate camps.

It was this Ling Tong that approached the Wu strategist at that point, and Yu hid his fatigue as well as he could. Sure, Yu was a fighter amongst strategists, but he was nothing like Ce in stamina. Ce had about as much energy as Zhou Yu had intellect--Yu was glad it didn't echo vice versa. "Hey." was about as simple of a greeting that Tong could give without adding in some kind of sarcastic remark. Zhou Yu and Tong weren't particularly unfriendly with each other, it was just that Tong just didn't get along with a lot of people. Especially Gan Ning, to which Yu suspected that eventually they would get past their differences and be close friends. That would come...some day. For the time being, though, it didn't seem likely at all.

Zhou Yu simply dipped his head slightly. "What brings you here?"

"Ah, I thought I'd take a break from training." Tong lifted his nunchakus with a shrug. "Gonna go switch these out and use one of my old ones so this one doesn't get messed up, if ya know what I mean."

A faint smile appeared on Yu's face. Looking at Ling Tong, he suddenly got reminded of Sun Ce.

"What about you, oh great camp leader?"

Up until the sarcasm started. Zhou Yu's expression returned to stoic. "Well, I was just about to--"

"Go and try and hook up with that Qiao chick?"

If it was anyone other than a person in Wu who had spoken those words, he would have had their head in one second. Since this general was in Wu, he was prepared to give him ten.

Taking a deep breath to compose himself, he chuckled, a laugh with no humor in it. Ling Tong seemed to get the hint and stepped back a few feet. "Hey, I didn't mean it as an offense. No, really, I didn't." He put up his hands in a surrendering fashion, looking rather sheepish.

Yu simply shrugged. "Well, currently I think that I had a change of plans and would rather provide you with some form of gruesome torture which might make you want to go home to your mother." His words were spoken slowly, deliberately, and Tong immediately gave a grin, still sheepish, stepping back.

"W--well, anyway I guess I'll go back in training. Catch you later!" Once the man was out of sight, Zhou Yu laughed, scratching his head almost as sheepishly as Tong had looked. "Well well... that was interesting."

"Indeed." a familiar voice called out, and Yu turned to see Lu Meng heading in his direction. "I hadn't seen Ling Tong run that fast for years."

The two laughed, both a tad more relaxed in each other's company.

"But really, with that tone and that look, if I hadn't known better I would have done the same myself," Meng added in, referencing the last phrase the other man had said to Tong. He paused, then sighed. "You look exhausted, Yu."

Zhou Yu didn't bother to deny it. "I am." he stated, breathing a sigh. "Maybe I'm out of practice."

"Maybe you have more on your mind than training us all?" the other man added in, a knowing look on his face.

Yu couldn't help but crack a smile. "News _does_ travel fast."

--

Xiao lifted her arm in the air, then jumped. Then she jumped again. And again. And once more. Then she simply dropped her arm back down, and pouted at the weapons stacked in front of her. Of course, they had to put her fans up on top of the largest area possible, meaning that unless she could fly or stand on swords and the like, she couldn't reach them. Noting that she would have to lecture whoever thought of this fine plan, she switched arms and tried again.

Swiping up a few times, she ended up grabbing an odd weapon's edge, and when gravity pulled her back to the ground, knocked over half of the training weaponry, minus the fans which amazingly stayed in place, and fell on her bottom. She looked at the odd weapon in her hands, and then swung them around a few times. If she remembered right, they were nunchakus, and they looked...well... hard to use. In her opinion at least. She looked at the end of it, then looked where she was holding, then stood up, brushing herself off and then swiping with the nunchakus toward her fans instead. Not particularly smart, but she wasn't going for intellect here anyway.

Xiao almost was able to snatch part of her fans with the odd weapon when someone came from behind her, calling out, "Hey! What's the big idea?"

She jumped. And this time she didn't want to.

Ling Tong watched as she fell back down onto the floor, dragging a few other things with her. When she stood back up, she looked very unhappy, her clothes covered with dust, and her face red with both embarrassment and annoyance. In her hands were his nunchakus. Being the way he was, Tong noticed that particular detail first.

"Hey!" he repeated.

"Hey what?" Xiao retorted, too annoyed to bother being nice. She started brushing herself off again, the pout on her face almost an automatic reaction. "Can't you stop looking and help me out here?"

"Well, sure, if you'd give me back my weapon," the man stated, rolling his eyes. He collected it without her permission, but she was too busy dusting herself off to care. "What the heck were you doing in here?"

"I was _trying_ to reach my fans, but _somebody_ mean decided to put them all the way up there where I can't reach them!"

Tong looked at the area where the fans were, then easily grabbed them, handing them to her. "Truthfully, I don't think that you'd have any trouble reaching them if you'd have a growth spurt along the way. Everyone who's of average height can reach them."

Xiao turned her gaze back toward Ling Tong, one hand on one fan and the other, fist clenched. "We--ll, I'm sorry that I'm short!" she exclaimed, "Now you and your weirdo weapon can go away, can't you?"

"Not a problem," Tong stated, waving his arm. "I don't wanna help clean this mess anyway."

Xiao Qiao watched the man leave, then turned back to the room, gulping. "...well...um...I don't wanna clean this either..."

She was just about to leave the room when she noticed a familiar sword which had fallen next to her. It was still sheathed, but by the shape and handle, it was obvious who it belonged to. The girl looked at it for a while, then picked it up. It was awfully heavy for her, even if it was only a training weapon--but not heavy enough for her not to snatch it.

She giggled to herself, reminding herself to grab her fans when she returned, and instead took Zhou Yu's weapon...


	14. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

_Author's Note: An update! Amazing! How many years has it been now? As this fic started back when DW3 was the latest update, Koei keeps throwing moi curveballs with characterization, so don't flame me for inconsistencies that have to do with its progression please (why is Da not even in DW6?) But anyway, although I've felt like dumping this thing in the trash a billion times, I owe this to those of you who've kept emailing and reminding me about an update. Here goes nothing!_

The morning and approximately five hours passed before he came across it. Zhou Yu wasn't sure if it was due to his sudden bout of exhaustion or if it was simply pure irritation of the mess that finally got to him, but he found himself in the training room attempting with the greatest self-restraint to keep himself from burning the whole hut down. Another general whom he hadn't seen for a while, Taishi Ci, had asked him if he would train a few of his subordinates as a test of endurance, and so Yu had walked calmly to the area designated for weapon storage to be greeted with a rather large mess. He did not open his mouth, but his footsteps were enough to echo his annoyance for many a ways away.

Yu took a deep breath, then leaned down, picking up a few of the fallen weapons and beginning to arrange them.

"Now who in their right mind would leave this place like this," he muttered to himself as he worked along. "Nevermind that, why didn't they simply clean it up afterwards?"

He paused when he heard a noise behind him but didn't bother to turn as Taishi Ci spoke. "What happened here?!"

"That's what I'd like to know," Yu said dryly. "Someone must have been having fun at our expense."

"Here, let me help you."

The two men painstakingly managed to rebuild the height of the weapon storage structure after quite some time. Taishi Ci looked sheepish after the endeavor. "Wonder if my men are still on standby." he commented.

Zhou Yu was slowly regaining his composure, tossing his head slightly. He crossed his arms after glancing around the room. "Well." he muttered, then graciously cleared his throat to try and remove the traces of anger from it. "Well." he tried again. This time he seemed to speak passively enough for himself and so continued, "This is interesting."

The other man looked toward him, his thick eyebrow raised. Zhou Yu glanced him over a bit, noting the masculine structure of his face. He was not particularly close to Ci, so he was slightly more cautious when speaking with him. Ci on the other hand seemed not to pay that any attention and treated him with the same friendliness that he seemed to grant his closest allies. "Interesting? What about?"

Yu let a faint frown cross his face. "My training sword is the only thing that's missing here."

Taishi Ci blinked in silence, then started to walk around the area, tipping a few things here and there to confirm. Once he was satisfied that the man was indeed telling the truth, Ci seemed to slump down. "Now who would have misplaced something like that?"

Zhou Yu was not about to let his temper flare up in front of this man and so studied the area carefully as he pondered. Sending Taishi Ci off to tell his men to take a small break, Yu finally leaned against one of the walls. Slowly, his gaze lifted to the top of the pile and a thought dawned on him.

:Wasn't Xiao Qiao's training fan up at the top there?:

His quick mind did not fail him in conjuring up a possible scenario which was not far from the truth. He shook his head. :It couldn't be that she would...:

:No, she couldn't possibly carry my sword anywhere without someone seeing her... right?:

The man turned a half second before someone else entered, his familiar ponytail shaking like a horse's tail. Yu decided it was a good time to excuse himself from the area and was about to scoot past Ling Tong, when the latter whistled, a strange smirk on his face.

"Cleaning duty?" he commented, making Yu spin around to look at him.

Zhou Yu eyed the other man carefully. Obviously he knew about the mess beforehand, so that would also mean that he was someone who hadn't bothered to clean up. Yu swept his hand through the air with a graceful yet irritated motion. "Were you the one who made that fine mess here in the morning?"

"Nope," Tong stated with a shrug. He was reaching for a training polearm for some reason or another. His nunchakus were still dangling from his pocket. "Sorry to disappoint you."

Yu frowned faintly enough that he knew that Tong wouldn't notice. He then turned back to start walking away when Tong called out,

"That doesn't mean I didn't see who did it though."

Zhou Yu paused once more, not turning around this time. "By all means, do not keep me in suspense."

"Hah," the other man said, apparently relishing his moment of glory. Yu made a mental note to be especially hard on this man's training regimen for a good week. "I thought your little girlfriend would have told you about her accident already."

Zhou Yu's expression darkened. He did not bother to hide it, as he still had his back to Tong anyway, but when he looked down he saw he had begun to clench his hand as well. He released it immediately.

"Oh. That's right. She wasn't your girlfriend yet, huh?"

Yu had to hand it to Ling Tong that he really knew how to push people's buttons. Yu curtly took a few more steps, then called out casually, "Thank you for your information," before stalking down the hallway.

At first he was not sure why he was so angry, and calmly attempted to collect himself. Seeing him angry was definitely going to make the younger Qiao run faster and further away from him, he reminded himself as he headed toward her area of the camp.

--

Da Qiao nervously fixed her hair in her mirror, twisting it into complex braids and adding her trademark clips to her pigtails. She still had a few hours before she was to visit her lord's room, but that did not stop her from being anxious. She still had to fix up dinner with a few others and she doubted she would have much time in between dinner and her visit to adequately make herself presentable. She flinched a bit when she thought she heard a knock on her door, but it was across the hallway. For some reason she imagined her little sister barging into the room, her side ponytail swaying as she happily relayed all of the events of the day to her. The elder Qiao sighed softly to herself. It would still be quite a while before she would be able to see her sister once more. Da was always trying to keep her sister out of trouble in the sidelines, but when she was not even in the same camp, it was near impossible to do so. With the close watch of Zhou Yu, of course, she doubted that anything could possibly happen to Xiao, but that did not stop her from missing her younger half.

Da suddenly noticed that it was getting dark, and if she did not hurry, she would be late for dinner preparations. She hastily leapt from her seat, slipping out of her room and hurrying toward the main dining room.

From afar, she could see Sun Quan and Lu Xun traveling through the corridor, the former carrying a large stack of papers. Xun looked sheepish, his eyes darting back and forth, which instantly made Da be on the lookout for a certain Wu princess. To her slight surprise, Sun Shang Xiang was nowhere to be found. The young woman was just about scurrying past the two men when she felt one of her hairpins slip.

"Oh!" she turned instantly, leaning down to pick it up.

Sun Quan was passing her at this moment, and she noticed him stop in his tracks when she winced involuntarily, her arm recoiling slightly as she tried to pick up the offending pin. She held back an "ouch!" but she knew she couldn't hide the flash of pain that rushed through her expression. She looked to her palm and sure enough there was a thin line of red. She had not noticed how sharp her hair accessories were. Suddenly remembering Quan and Xun's presences, Da looked up, grabbing her injured hand and giving them her serene smile. "Good afternoon," she commented. Judging by the look on Quan's face, he had not missed her wince.

"Are you alright?" Quan asked, handing off the papers to Xun so he could step forward.

Da Qiao nodded a bit. The two were cordial to each other, mostly due to him being Ce's brother, but she had to admit she rarely spoke with him. He was fumbling for something in his pocket, and she saw it was a handkerchief by its corner long before he managed to pull it completely out.

The young woman took the kerchief graciously, along with Quan's feeble attempt to wrap it around her hand. She would have to fix it later, she decided. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Lu Xun was having a little trouble holding onto the stack of papers, and she stepped back a bit, trying to allow for Quan to see this as well. The youngest Sun did, and he grabbed the papers back from Xun, who glanced at Da with what looked like a grateful expression.

"Thank you very much, my lord," Da Qiao spoke, her voice rich and feminine. She thought she saw Quan's face turn a dash brighter and dismissed it as an illusion of lighting. It was not that she was unused to men noticing her beauty, but it simply was awkward to be seen as an object of femininity to her love's younger brother.

Outside was completely dark by now and she felt a surge of urgency. Quan did not seem to get her hints of hurrying, so she turned toward Lu Xun, trying to portray this in her expression without breaking out of her calm exterior.

--

Lu Xun immediately noticed Da's dilemma and turned toward Quan, nodding faintly. "Well, we will be on our way now," he stated, looking at the other man for affirmation.

"Yes," Sun Quan said at last. He shuffled a few papers around and Xun stepped forward.

"Are you sure you don't need me to carry half?" he tried as he watched the young woman scurry off toward the dining room.

"No, no, I'm fine. You still need to get some rest."

Xun lowered his gaze. He not only felt incredibly guilty toward his companion, but also ashamed. "I'm sure I can help a little..."

His meek request was denied almost immediately and he sighed inwardly as he was escorted by Quan back to his room. Sun Quan had arranged a meeting with Xun earlier that day to discuss a few of the ideas he had had while he was reading through his paperwork, and Lu Xun was already exhausted with that alone. However much he wished to make himself useful, he knew it was still too early in his recovering to be of much use.

They reached his room soon enough and Sun Quan left him there, saying "Why don't you try to spar with someone to get your strength back up? It might clear your head too. And don't forget to get a lot of sleep."

The young man took a seat on his bed, glancing around his room. He wanted to write, but his mind felt too fuzzy for him to do so. He knew it was already a whole day that he had been up after his unexpected collapse, and in his mind it was a whole day wasted. Deciding finally that Sun Quan might be right, Xun picked up his training sabers and headed out.

Gan Ning was the first person he found in the training area. As Gan Ning was a decent sparring partner, that was alright in Xun's books, but there was just one problem. Instead of actually sparring or training on his own, Ning was drinking a bit and sharing laughter with a certain Wu princess. As far as Xun could tell, she had apparently gotten there not much before Xun himself. She was still standing and rocking back and forth on her feet, while Ning was seated next to his training sword. Shang Xiang was carrying a bow and arrow. Xun wondered if she was going to try target practicing along with her normal training.

His mind was murky but under the cloudiness, he knew it was telling him that he did not want to interrupt their cheery conversation with his presence, especially when he was feeling so down. He turned, but a little too late.

"Hey, Lu Xun!" Gan Ning called out, his voice slightly slurred.

Lu Xun was going to try and ignore the call, until Ning changed tactics and called out, "Hey! Pinky!"

Xun paused a bit, then turned around, feeling his face burn. "P--Pinky?" he attempted, resignedly walking toward the two.

Sun Shang Xiang slapped Ning on the arm. "Don't make fun of the outfit Xiao made for him!" she chided, and Xun realized what Ning was referring to.

Lu Xun tried to stop it, but his face grew warmer anyway. A long while back, Xiao Qiao had thought it would be somewhat funny if she had someone make Xun an outfit that was all pink. Although Xun himself did not approve of the color swap, it was his friend's idea and so he kept the cursed garb. Only for use in dire circumstances, he remembered vowing himself.

He wondered how Gan Ning had possibly found out about it, and then began really regretting having been passed out for a good long enough time for people to snoop around.

Ning was sweetly unaware of this and just grinned from ear to ear. Lu Xun watched Shang Xiang hit him again and felt something tug at his chest. :Please don't let me jealous of Gan Ning: he urged himself. He knew for sure that the two in front of him were simply good friends, but the thought alone wasn't enough to calm his nerves. He wrote it off in his mind as an effect of his early fever.

--

Sun Shang Xiang wasn't planning on watching the two men's entire duel. It was dark already, and she wasn't even really sure why she had come outside with a bow in her hands. Sure, it was true that she needed target practice, and sure it was true that she needed a breath of fresh air. Then again, it was too dark to do anything productive with her bow, and well, fresh air doesn't quite equal a drunken Gan Ning. Trying to dig deep in her mind, she came to the conclusion that she had just wanted to relieve a little stress. It was just her luck that Ning was still at the training grounds. He was always useful for a joke or two, although sometimes it was at the expense of someone else.

Lu Xun seemed to be having a bad day. He tripped over himself a few times and dropped his sabers a couple times too. Ning didn't fare too much better, probably because he was drinking not too long ago. Shang Xiang watched the two and compared them to a comedy routine in her mind. It wasn't until Lu Xun landed face first in a pile of gravel a few paces away that she stopped them.

"Okay, okay, enough," she announced, clapping her hands above her head. "You're going to hurt yourselves more than help yourselves now."

Shang Xiang watched as the young strategist slowly lifted himself from the floor. His hat had fallen a few paces to his side and she picked it up, walking to him and placing it back on his head. He had his head lowered as he moved to a standing position. Gan Ning was snickering a bit. "You know what?"

Xun tilted his head and Shang Xiang quipped, "What?"

"With all that dirt on his face he reminds me of an Indian."

"...a what?" the young woman blinked a few times.

"Yeah. Looks like he's sporting some face paint, huh?" Ning laughed, and Shang Xiang watched as Xun turned red and started trying to brush his face off.

Although she was trying not to seem rude, Gan Ning's laughter was contagious and the Wu princess found herself cracking a smile as well. She lifted her sleeve a little and put a hand to Lu Xun's shoulder. "Look here," she said quietly so only he could hear her. The young man turned, lifting embarrassed doe-eyes in her direction. Shang Xiang was glad that the lighting was too dim for anyone else to notice her faint blush. She wiped aside the few remaining specks of dust from his face and then turned toward Ning. "Face paint isn't all that bad," she said, trying to deter the laughter. "I think it's kind of cute."

That seemed to provoke the ex-pirate further, and he almost choked as he regained his breath. "Hoo boy!" he exclaimed, clutching his stomach. "I'm dying here!"

Sun Shang Xiang lifted her hand from Xun's shoulder, noticing with embarrassment that she had let it linger there. A slight tinge of warmth still remained for a split second after removing her arm and she folded her arms to attempt to hide the feeling. "Why don't we just leave this drunk behind and go somewhere else," she said with a mock huff. She watched Lu Xun from the corner of her eye, waiting for a reaction. Not surprisingly, his face flushed slightly and Shang Xiang had a sudden urge to say not to get the wrong idea, but that thought quickly reminded her of her brother and she kept it out of her throat. "You need more rest anyway," she added in.

Lu Xun seemed reluctant in his steps, but his voice sounded surprisingly strong when he agreed. "Alright."

--

Xiao Qiao couldn't help but worry when she heard the knock on her door. The all too familiar sound of a certain man's footsteps were coming closer. That also worried her. How and when did she learn the tiny differences between the officer's footsteps? No, that wasn't right. She only learned Zhou Yu's footsteps so she could swiftly escape if she heard them approaching. This time, though, she was trapped in her room.

She could have tried to hide somewhere else, but a lot of time passed, and she figured she'd look even more suspicious if she wasn't in her room like she should be.

The knock was louder now. Yu's voice called through, "Lady Xiao, please open the door."

Xiao felt a shiver run through her spine. His voice was so calm and collected. It sounded almost robotic. Her initial excitement for her prank was wearing out.

"Coming!" she finally exclaimed, making a ruse of rushing to the door and breathing heavily. She slid open the door and Yu bowed his head.

"Do you mind if I come in for a bit?"

"Um, well," she frowned, "Yeah, a little," she finally said, "But that's okay I guess. Come in." she stepped back and let him enter, sliding the door closed behind them.

To her surprise, Zhou Yu's expression did not share the calm and collected bite of his voice. Instead, he simply looked worn out. He gestured at the small table, and Xiao Qiao frowned before thinking to pull up one of her small chairs. He looked strange sitting in one. Or maybe he just looked strange sitting across from her in the tiny chair with the tiny table. She would have giggled in normal circumstances, but he looked so uncharacteristically stressed out that she kept the humor in a corner of her mind far away. She took a seat as well, then attempted to keep small talk.

"Soooo, um, why are you here anyway? You wanna talk about the upcoming training sessions or something?" she shot him her best attempt at an innocent smile, then added in, "You look dead tired, Lord Zhou Yu!"

Almost magically, the stressed look from his face disappeared and Xiao tilted her head. No wonder he was able to keep so calm, she noted, he was just often really good at keeping his expression steady. She looked on curiously as he slowly regained his collected gaze. The moment the transition ended, she flinched involuntarily. Initially he had seemed much more human, but now he was back to being that stoic Zhou Yu who she had not had much high regard for before. Well, not that she really had high regard for him at all now, but yeah. That wasn't the point.

"Would you like to tell me something?" Zhou Yu was asking, his gaze landing hard on hers. She felt a pang of guilt as she saw him focus on her, and then began to panic inside.

:Oh no! He knows!? How could he have found out?:

His eyes looked as if they could read her mind so she shut out as much information as she could possibly contain. "About what?" she said sweetly, clasping her hands in front of her.

First things first, she decided, was that she had to try and get Yu to leave her room. She spoke again, trying to keep her voice steady under his gaze, "I--I don't know what you're talking about."

"My sword," Yu stated calmly. "You haven't seen it?"

Xiao Qiao involuntarily glanced to the side of her room where she had hidden it, double checking if it was visible. It wasn't. She breathed a sigh of relief, then remembered he was still there in front of her and jumped. "Oh! Nope. Nooope. Why would I see that?"

His expression was still serious. She had a sinking feeling that he had caught her. This was quite affirmed when he stated, "According to Ling Tong--"

She cut him off with a huff. "Ugh! I knew that bozo wouldn't be any help! But how would he know that I took your sword?"

Zhou Yu put a hand to his head and Xiao blinked a few times. He sighed. "Ling Tong only told me that you made the mess in the weapon storage."

"Oh."

Xiao felt her face warm. :And I just admitted to taking the sword on my own...WAH WHYYY??:

She watched the man stand up, heading to the exact spot where she had placed it underneath a cloth. He pulled it out and gracefully replaced it at his side. It had taken her quite a bit of exertion to drag it to her room, but he seemed to pick it up effortlessly. Zhou Yu gestured back at the table as if asking permission to sit back down. Dumbly, she nodded, trying to figure out how he could have found the location so easily. Was she so easy to read? No, he was just too good at reading minds. He must be a freak! Look at those eyes, they almost go straight through you, Xiao!

The young woman looked toward his gaze and then blinked in confusion. The normally hard expression had vanished once more from Zhou Yu's face. He leaned back a bit, almost resigned.

"Lady Xiao Qiao," he said.

His eyes closed briefly and he took a deep breath, letting it out as he sat up straight again. This time, although the sign of stress was just a faint twinge, his cool expression was also nowhere to be found. Instead, Zhou Yu appeared like a normal man to her. Albeit a rather beautiful and handsome sort. He repeated her name, quieter this time, and Xiao felt a vague warmth on her cheeks. She hid her face a bit until she felt it was safe enough to look back. "Yeah?" she answered finally.

"Why do you hate me so? What did I ever do to you to deserve this?"

Xiao Qiao watched silently as the man struggled with the words. His face flirted with agony briefly, and the guilt began to grow in the young woman's heart. It made her wonder a bit. Why was it that she actually hated him? Did she actually hate him? Was it just her childish selfishness? Or was it something more?

She opened her mouth, then shut it. Initially she wanted to say she was afraid of him, but she looked at the man before her, and he did not scare her in the least.

--

"Sun Ce!"

Ce jumped as the voice interrupted his thoughts. "Yeah?" he asked casually, crossing his arms and stepping into what his father said was a tiger stance.

Said father was frowning toward him and he glanced around himself, remembering that he was supposed to be listening to his father's conversation.

"I was asking you a question," Jian stated with a sigh.

A couple of the nearby soldiers exchanged amused glances and Sun Ce shot them a look. "Sorry Pops," he said, "I'm just really too tired right now."

Sun Jian looked at his son, and Ce saw some strange light in the older man's eyes. "Sure, sure." Jian finally said, "Why don't you go get some rest in your room for the rest of the night."

"Sure thing, Pops," Sun Ce stated, suddenly renewed. He caught the look of exasperation on his father's face but bounded off before he could get lectured further. Sun Jian had been asking for a briefing of the other campsite but Ce couldn't think of anything out of the ordinary he could have possibly spoken about for more than a day and a half and so kept on zoning out through the conversation. Or at least, that was what he was convincing himself he was doing. In actuality he was just zoning out because of his supposed date with his raven-haired beauty. Granted, he had caught the look on Jian's face, so he had an inkling of doubt that his father believed his excuse, but hey. Whatever works is how it goes! Or so he thought.

Sun Ce took a glance out of the window and noticed that it was already getting later than he had thought. It was pitch black outside and from a ways afar he could see his little sister holding what looked like a mini party with the Wu camp's energetic ex-pirate. Ce lifted his eyebrow. "Shang Xiang," he muttered under his breath, "Are you getting that desperate now that Zhou Yu is gone?"

Ah well, Gan Ning wasn't such a bad guy. He just hoped that the pirate wouldn't get his sister drunk or something. That would be the end of the Wu's camp if it ended up triggering the young woman's temper. With these amused thoughts in his mind, he found himself at his room. He was about to enter it with a false grandiose movement, which was in fact mocking his friend Zhou Yu, when a gruff voice from behind him commented, "Never thought you were the type."

Sun Ce jumped, then spun around to see Zhou Tai, who had just a touch of amusement on his face. Ce sheepishly scratched his head. "Ah, well, I'm not." He couldn't think of a good way to explain what he was doing and instead just kept up his grin. "Shouldn't you get some rest or somethin'? It's getting late."

"Yes, but I'd like to train a bit before."

Sun Ce noticed the sword beside Tai's side. "Ah," he said, still clueless on what to say further.

Zhou Tai raised his eyebrow and suddenly seemed in a hurry to leave. "Goodnight," he said, turning and heading toward the training area.

"Uh, yeah, 'night!" Sun Ce called out, unable to keep from being confused. When Tai was out of earshot he added, "What the heck was that about?"

"I am not sure, my lord," a soft voice answered him, and he did a double take, almost crashing into his door. When he looked to his side, he saw a wide eyed Da Qiao looking up at him. She seemed nervous.

"Oh! I am sorry, my lord!" she immediately said, shaking her head, "If you would rather me come back another day, I can arrange that."

:It's already that time?: he thought to himself, gulping, :My room isn't ready for this!:

"Yes, it is already that time," the elder Qiao said, her eyes still wide.

Sun Ce kicked himself. :I could have sworn I was just thinking to myself!: He cleared his throat and then stepped back a bit. "Er, don't worry about it. Come on in! Though it's kind of messy..."

He let the young woman enter first before walking in afterwards and accessing the damage.

He came to the conclusion that the damage was great. Not only were there random things strewn all around the room, but when he checked himself in the mirror, his ponytail wasn't even straight. With a resigned sigh, he pulled the ribbon out of his hair and pulled his hair back again to fix it. To his surprise, he felt a small hand upon his and glanced to the side to see the young woman resting one hand on his. "This ribbon," she started quietly.

"Yeah," he managed to say, "I've had it for a while now."

He felt a frown cross his face when he noticed a strange kerchief wrapped around Da's hand. "Something happen?" he asked, lifting the offended hand up carefully. Da pulled it aside with a gentle pull.

"No, my lord," she said. "Nothing that you will need to worry about. Your brother kindly gave me this to help me when I pricked my finger this afternoon."

"Quan did?" Sun Ce raised an eyebrow, and then shrugged. "Here, lemme take a look." She timidly offered her hand back.

The wound was small but still faintly bleeding. Ce pulled out a spare bundle of bandages and leaned over to wrap them around her tiny cut. Once he was satisfied, he shot her a grin, which she returned with a smile.

"Here, let me help you." she added in. He assumed she saw his confused expression as she continued, "Your hair."

Da Qiao moved behind him, taking the ribbon from his hand and sweeping his hair up in one swift moment. He moved down to his knees to let her have greater access and she re-tied the ponytail, perfectly centered, in just a few minutes. "There." she sent him a smile that he saw in the mirror.

"Thanks," Ce stated, gently removing her hands from his head so he could turn around. When he was down on his knees and she was standing, they were almost the same height. At least, he could see her on eye level, and he found that she looked so much more beautiful up close than from up above.

They were quiet for what seemed like a long time, both content solely by being in the other's company. Sun Ce finally broke the bonding time with a loud groan of pain. The young woman's eyes widened again and Ce waved his hand sheepishly. "I think my leg just fell asleep."

"...then you should stand back up, my lord," Da said, a twinkle in her eyes. Sun Ce did so, wandering around a few times while feeling like a complete idiot in front of his romantic interest.


	15. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

_Author's Note: My, how many typos I had before. My format went wonky sometime in the last who knows how long it's been since my last update and I cringe a little at the reocurring ones. Anyway, Happy Holidays to all! Cheers with a warm and fuzzy update. ^.^v  
_

Lu Xun quietly followed the Wu princess back to his room. She initially seemed somewhat eager to leave and something told Xun that she was trying to think of a good reason to leave him as quickly as possible. It was unfortunate, but he knew he didn't exactly provide the best of entertainment on his own, either, so if she decided she'd leave he wouldn't be able to stop her. In a way, maybe he did feel slightly envious of Gan Ning. At least the drunken pirate would be entertaining even if he never said a word to Shang Xiang at all. The thoughts weighed Xun down and he drooped a little.

When they reached the room, she turned to him, shooting him a smile that warmed his face yet again. Trying to be careful and not have her suspect his fever had returned, he glanced aside quickly. The young woman stepped back, and he thought he heard her speak.

"I'm sorry?" he tried, looking at her worriedly.

"Huh?" Sun Shang Xiang blinked a few times, taking a step back forward. "Did you say something?"

"Err, no, I was just thinking you might have...?"

The young woman laughed a bit. "Oh!" she said, "No, I didn't. But maybe you heard my thoughts."

Xun knew he looked perturbed and didn't do a good job at hiding it. Her humored expression confirmed it rather well.

"I was just wondering if you'd mind if we had a little chat before I go." she finished.

He watched her spin around, rocking back on her feet once before turning back to look at him. Lu Xun found her expression had changed from humored to more... embarrassed? He had never really seen the young woman before him be such and it confused him. Shang Xiang's face seemed abnormally flushed, and he stepped back a bit, feeling his back against his door. He reached back to steady himself a bit. Sure, he had always been smitten with the Wu princess's facial features already, but he noticed the faint rosy glow in her cheeks made her whole face illuminate much like an angelic halo. He didn't bother to hide his face this time even though he felt the usual flush careen through his own body as well.

Sun Shang Xiang seemed to suspect something from this and she shook her head suddenly, widening her eyes. When she recovered from the movement, the blush was gone, making Xun wonder if he had even truly seen it at all. "Is that a no?" she asked quietly. The amused note in her voice had vanished. Xun immediately snapped back to his senses, opening the door and gesturing for her to enter. He did not trust his vocal chords, but luckily she seemed to understand that it was an affirmative sign.

The young man entered a few seconds after her, sliding the door back in place and pulling up a chair for her to sit in. She sat, the amused expression returning to her face as she looked around. Lu Xun guilty glanced around as well, happily remembering that as he was unable to write at all for the last few days, he did not have a mess to worry about this time. He took a seat on his bed, a few paces across from her.

"So.." she was saying, and he tried to focus his mind toward her words.

"Y--yes?"

Lu Xun felt like a fool. However many times that he would be able to speak with the woman he had his eyes on for so many a month, he could never enter a conversation with her without feeling nervous and embarrassed. He hid his face again in shame. She apparently took this as a cue.

"Lu Xun," she started.

He immediately looked up. Her voice was dead serious and her expression mirrored it. No, it did not quite mirrored it. He took a closer look, and he thought he saw pain in her eyes. His nervousness gave way to worry. "Yes, Lady Sun?" he spoke, glad his voice was obeying him this time.

"I know you're worried about her, but she should be okay."

Xun hesitated, wrapping his mind around the words. Her? She? He recalled their last few conversations and realized she had wanted to talk about Xiao Qiao. A frown slipped onto his face and when he noticed it, he tried to pull it away. Shang Xiang was still speaking.

"I heard from big brother that the both her and Zhou Yu are doing well in camp. At the rate things are going, they should be back within next week. A lot better than a whole month, huh?"

When he looked at her, he saw her eyes were lowered and she was nervously gripping at the fabric on her pant leg. She seemed to notice his gaze on hers and she lifted her eyes, catching his for a moment before looking back down.

Lu Xun took a moment to think before he spoke softly, "Lady Sun, what makes you bring up Lady Xiao?"

Immediately she was sitting up straight, tilting her head in confusion. "Huh?" she asked, then pursed her lips together before adding, "Well, I know that you've had an..interest in her from a while back. I just feel a little guilty that.." she trailed off, seeming hopeful that he'd interrupt her. He couldn't think of anything to say and so she finished, "..that I'm the one here and not her. I'm sure you would have had a much better time with her here, and.."

The young woman suddenly stood up. "Oh!" she exclaimed, putting a hand on her head. "I don't know what I'm saying anymore. Just..I'm sorry, Xun."

She was turning to leave, and Lu Xun watched quietly as she reached the door. The young woman paused as though she had something more to say, but then seemed to reconsider.

Xun was tempted to brood upon the whole conversation after she had gone, but quickly realized that it was as good as a time as any to clear up her misconception. It took a bit of effort, but for the first time he could remember, he called out to her, "Wait!"

--

"--ait! Please, wait, Lady Sun!"

Sun Shang Xiang stopped in her tracks, but did not turn around. Her mind was whirling with so many different thoughts that she couldn't seem to keep her balance straight. ::You're so smart, Shang Xiang,:: she chided herself. ::Now you just sound jealous.::

The analysis wasn't too far off, she knew with a sinking feeling of defeat. But then again she knew she would never rival the Qiao sisters in their beauty. It was already a given.

Initially she had been happy that he had accepted her into the room to talk, but a little thinking reminded her that he was still in need of recuperating. She decided at least it would give her a little time to tell him what he missed, but then again she wasn't exactly knowledgeable when it came to what strategists do. With dismay, she figured she'd just content herself with idle chat with him for a bit. Time spent with the young man was, after all, one of her favorite pastimes. She frowned to herself with that thought. He was still painfully unawares. Then again, he was too busy thinking of Xiao Qiao, she had told herself. Maybe that was the main reason he was alright with her suggestion of a talk? Because Xiao was gone and she was the next best choice?

Sun Shang Xiang had felt her hopes careen down in one fell swoop. The feeling was so heavy that she finally stood up and was _this_ close to leaving before he stopped her.

She couldn't bring herself to turn to face him. She heard him stand up and take a few steps forward in her direction. Although tempted to move further, the door was too close for her to edge forward.

"Please," she heard him try again. "Y--you have it all wrong. Lady Xiao and...I... I'm not..."

The young woman placed a hand on the wall in front of her, pushing at it gently as she tried to regain her focus. "I don't understand what you're saying, Xun." she finally said, turning to look at him. She falsely smiled, but she could tell she fooled him with it.

Lu Xun was hesitating, his face turning the shade of his hat. He was trying to start again, but he was stammering so badly that she resignedly turned back around.

"Why don't we talk about this later?" she said quietly. In truth, she did not want to talk about it at all, but she knew she would have to support anything that her friend needed help with, even if it had something to do with his love life.

Ah, she sighed. Unrequited love. Nothing she wasn't new to.

"Lady Sun."

She lifted an eyebrow. His voice was stable now, and she heard her advance a few more feet.

"Please, listen to me. Lady Xiao is nothing more than a friend to me."

This caught Sun Shang Xiang's attention rather well and she tilted her head, still facing away from him. "But--"

"It's true...that I am interested in someone from our camp. But it is not her."

The young woman couldn't tell if she felt relieved or worried once more. She was about to dismiss the whole conversation at that, but finally her curiosity gave way and she spoke lightly. "I see! Do I know the lucky girl?" she spun back around, putting her hands together. She immediately regretted asking.

Lu Xun stopped in his tracks, still a few paces away from her. He nodded this time, apparently too embarrassed to speak. Sun Shang Xiang immediately went searching in her mind for the women that she knew. The only ones who truly stood out were the Qiao sisters. Which, if it was not Xiao Qiao, would only leave the elder Da Qiao as the prime interest. She winced. Da Qiao was a little harder to correspond with, so she doubted she would be able to help him with her, plus if she did, she would hear endless lecturing from her older brother.

Oh, but wouldn't it be funny, she mused off in a corner of her mind, if it was actually _you_ that he was talking about?

Right. Like that'd ever happen. Get a grip, Shang Xiang!

She sheepishly shook her head. "S--sorry," she said, all the while her hopes sinking lower and lower. She had never thought he was interested in someone as mature and home-wifely as Da. ::There goes any inkling of hope, Shang Xiang,:: she reminded herself.

"I don't think I can help you with Da Qiao..I know Xiao much better than her."

Lu Xun's expression went completely blank, and the young woman tilted her head. Was her calculation off? She tried to think of more of the women that she knew, but they were all so generic that she couldn't possibly think of one who could have taken the strategist's heart.

There was silence. A long silence. Shang Xiang took this as a cue to get out, and had turned back around again when he finally spoke.

"N--no."

"No?" she echoed.

"It's not Lady Da."

"Huh? It's not?"

"No..."

She heard him take a deep breath. It was shaky. She didn't want to turn around to see his expression.

"It's...you, Lady Sun."

--

Even to Zhou Yu's ears, he sounded pitiful. The whole phrase itself was pitiful, regardless of who said it or how it was said. Although he had a reputation of playing it cool and collected, he knew he was reaching his limit in front of the young woman from a while before. He felt the mask drop once before and he slowly tried to recuperate, glancing aside to avoid having to show her his expression. He hated to have people see him vulnerable. Xiao Qiao especially was not a high choice due to her ability to crush his hopes and dreams with one tantrum. Her reaction was something he wasn't expecting. Instead of a snide comment or a burst of laughter, Xiao stood up, putting both hands on the table and looking directly at him. He saw her serious expression from the corner of his eye.

"Before I answer," she said, "There's something that I want to know first."

"Yes?"

"Why do you like me?"

The question struck a chord in him. Not only because she asked it so genuinely innocently with her hidden confusion finally surfacing, but because he realized that this was the conversation that they should have had a long time ago. Maybe it would have prevented all of the misunderstandings. He chuckled inwardly how it was all due to the young woman's prank that this occurred.

Silence filled the room for a few moments and she added, "It's because I'm the only one who's never actually been interesting in you, right? It's because of your ego."

Zhou Yu was surprised again. Slowly, he began to realize that she had similarities to her older sister, yet she had care-freely tried to discard them. They were still innate, and she still had a head on her shoulders that wasn't just a pretty face. His appreciation grew by the second. Normally he would have simply smirked, brushed aside one of his wispy bangs or tossed his head, claiming that wasn't the truth and lying between his teeth. But Xiao Qiao was different from the others. Sure, she was right in analyzing how she was the only one initially able to refrain from falling head over heels for him, but she was also the only one that he truly valued her personality.

He took a moment to think about it. Yes, it was how she able to smile so sweetly toward her sister and her friends. It was how she was able to break free from the others whenever she felt like it and she wasn't bound by the restrictions of the higher ranking officers of Wu. It was how she pouted and tantrummed and was so open with her emotions. The answer was so simple, yet so complex.

"Well?" she demanded finally.

He turned to look at her. Xiao Qiao looked back, her eyes wide. He knew that he would be surprised as well, if he was in her position.

"I like everything about you." he responded with a smile, a genuine smile that poured from the bottom of his soul. At first he thought to brush it off or turn aside, but he did not. He knew he wanted her to see him as himself--the true Zhou Yu that he only showed to those closest to him and the ones he cared for most. It took great effort, but he refused his neutral facade.

--

"E-E-Everything?" Xiao repeated, her eyes still wide.

Zhou Yu was looking at her, but for some reason he didn't look the same as he used to. His normally restrained expression was gone and he was smiling. It was the same smile that she had seen once reflected off of the mirror. The same smile that she thought she wouldn't mind seeing if it was directed toward her. She felt her heart skip a beat and she tried to pull her gaze away.

::No, Xiao,:: she tried to convince herself, ::You can't fall under his spell too!::

But deep inside, she knew that the man before her now wasn't the man that the other women had fallen for. They had fallen for his cool, official manner. The Yu in front of her now was more of a sweet, endearing fellow instead. Nothing quite like how she had seen him act before.

That's right, she noted. It was all an act! He must be acting!

She tried to home in on his expression and felt her resolve falter just slightly.

He was nodding, oblivious to her thoughts. Since when did he stop looking like a hawk trying to read everyone's minds like prey?

He was speaking. "I like the way you walk. The way you talk. The way you fight in battles. The way you dance. The way that you pout with that adorable face of yours."

Xiao immediately tried to loosen her pout, feeling her face begin to burn up. "O--okay, okay, that's enough, you're embarrassing me!"

The man tilted his head a bit, entwining his fingers in front of himself. "Alright. Then it's your turn."

"My turn to...?" she paused, then remembered what he meant.

He repeated for her anyway. "Why is it that you hate me so?"

The younger Qiao stretched a bit, trying to buy herself time. "Well, that's obviously because..."

Her mind blanked on her as she watched the young man in front of her. His already handsome face was made even more so when he didn't have that cautious mask upon it. His gaze were on hers and she began to look around the room, never focusing on an object for more than a few seconds at a time.

"Um, because..."

Why was it that she hated him so? She frowned inside. It wasn't that she _hated_ him really. She didn't like him, though, that was for sure.

Well, at least she thought that she was sure, until she finally saw _the real Zhou Yu_ in front of her. Or perhaps, the Zhou Yu in front of her was the true act? Xiao Qiao squinted a bit. His expression marked a faint twinge of confusion; something she barely saw in it before. ::Nope,:: she confirmed to herself, ::This is _really_ him.::

Still at a loss for a good set of words, Xiao decided to play it off. She giggled, watching his expression switch to astonishment at first and then begin to shift back to normal. ::Oh, no you don't!::

"You're just hateable, that's all!" she said cheerily, beaming in his direction.

"...h--hateable?" The man before her visibly slumped. "I--I don't know if anyone else would agree..."

"Oh! Well, you know! Um, like..." the younger Qiao took a moment to try again. "Um, yeah! You know."

It was 100% obvious that he did not know.

Xiao's pout returned. "Oh! Well! You're a big bully!"

She hadn't really seen him outwardly bully anyone, come to think of it.

"You're a goody-two-shoes!"

Nope, that wasn't quite it either.

"You think of yourself too highly!"

Okay, closer, but not dead on.

"You're just too perfect for your own good!" she finally exclaimed, crashing back down to her seat. The chair made a nice scratching sound, which she found emphasized her speech nicely. Then she realized what she had admitted. "Um, no, well, you see, that's not quite..." The pout on her face grew and she didn't bother to push it away this time. Was that true? Was he really so perfect? She debated with herself in her mind. Sure, he was smart, she'd have to hand him that. Sure, he was friendly enough to most everyone and she couldn't think of anyone who was outwardly antagonistic toward him. Sure, he was a beautiful kind of handsome, she'd give him that too. Initially she'd wrote him off as not quite her type, but she wasn't really sure anymore.

She paused, then lifted her gaze ever so slightly toward him. He was also an arrogant bastard, right? But then again he wasn't too arrogant now.

Xiao threw her hands up in the air. "Oh! Oh, oh, oh! I don't know!" she moaned finally. "I just don't like you _because_!"

Yu smiled then and Xiao felt an unwelcome warmth cross her face. "So it seems that I'm interested in everything about you, and you hate everything about me." he concluded as he stood up. "I would love to stay here and contemplate this matter, but I'm due for training."

Xiao watched him as he headed to the door. He turned, bowing his head courteously. "Lady Xiao Qiao?"

"Y--yeah?"

"I'll have someone put your training fans closer to the floor this time. Could you please refrain from leaving a mess next time?"

Xiao balled one of her hands and shook it at him as he exited with a soft chuckle. "Oooooh. Who does he think he is anyway?"

--

Da Qiao smiled to herself as her lord struggled to his feet. He ran a nervous hand through his hair and she saw the faint tremor of his hand as it swept through his long locks. "Well," she heard him say after a moment of silence, "It's nice being home." He began to stretch a little, shifting his weight from right to left.

Da felt her smile grow. There were quite a few things she could think of to say to him. She could say that she agreed, and that she felt better now that she was closer to him, or one of several other thoughts that briefly circled in her mind. She settled on one, her voice a bare whisper, "I have missed you greatly, my lord."

Ce's gaze shot up to meet hers and he paused mid-stretch. She met his gaze, trying not to show her sudden embarrassment. She certainly didn't wish to have said the wrong thing. The pair watched each other in another moment of silence. As if on cue, both smiled at once. "Yeah?" Sun Ce asked, the genuine smile curving to a grin, "I missed everything and everyone around here myself. Of course, I missed you the most."

He stood tall then, taking two steps forward and extending his arms. Da widened her eyes in slight confusion and then hopped off of her seat to meet him midway. Ce gathered her up in an awkward hug and she gently moved one of his arms to rest on her shoulder.

Da Qiao pressed one dainty cheek against her love's chest and inhaled deeply. She could hear his heartbeat, running loud with a speed that told her that he was just as nervous as she felt. She shut her eyes for a brief moment and then let out a childish giggle, pushing herself free from his arms. When she looked up toward Ce, he had a confused expression on his face. Da shook her head to relieve his concern. "My lord," she said, and suddenly her words failed her. She was left standing there, looking up at the young man in front of her in utter silence. It was strange for her to lose her calm, and she knew that best. Her mouth moved several times but without a sound. Da forced her lips closed and attempted to give Ce the serene smile she had perfected over the years. Warmth spread through her face as she realized she still had trouble faking emotion in front of this man. Ce's expression had shifted from confusion to neutrality. Da saw him clench one fist before he shot her a grin.

"You know," he began, his voice uncharacteristically soft. She felt her face burn again and this time turned aside, looking toward the door. He immediately stopped speaking, seeming to be taking her glance as a cue.

"Oh, please, go on." she urged when he went completely silent. He didn't speak for a while longer and she stood listening to his breathing and the sound of her dancing heartbeat.

"You know," he tried again, and this time she didn't turn away and instead nodded her head politely as she waited for him to go on. "That one day...when we were outside."

He seemed to be waiting for another cue, and she immediately recalled that time prior, when he had supposedly confessed to her. He never repeated those words, though, and she hadn't the slightest clue if her ears had been betraying her that night. To prevent any false hope, she had dismissed the night as every other, though the idea still faintly crept up in her mind at least once a day. Da sent him a timid smile, hoping it was enough of a signal for him. It was.

"You said you didn't hear me, right?" Sun Ce took a moment to stretch, then scratch his head, trying to formulate the right words to say.

The young woman kept her gaze attentively toward his, the smile still upon her lips. Inside of herself, she was trying her best not to reveal her embarrassment in the situation. It _was_ getting quite late, and to be found in her lord's room at any later of a time would be somewhat of an offense, in her own mind. "My apologies, my lord," she inputted softly.

Ce nodded a few times, seeming to finally be able to blurt out his thoughts. "Well, you know....that time, what I really said was..."

Da Qiao tilted her head slightly, anxiously awaiting what her lord had to say. At the same time, she was braced for any bad luck which might befall the two, as in a knocking of the door or another interruption of some sort. She could tell from Ce's expression that he was anticipating the same--or even hoping for something to help him from continuing. He finally let out a sigh.

"Ahh, out with it Ce."

Da blinked a few times as the young man slumped a bit, then shrugged his shoulders.

"Da Qiao," he continued, his voice unnaturally cheery and almost forced. "What I said that day was that--"

The young woman could tell he was nervous without any cues besides the choice of his wording. With an inner sigh, she interrupted him. "If it pains you to repeat your words, my lord, I will not force it upon you."

This seemed to catch the Sun successor off-guard. For a moment he blinked, first surprised that she would interrupt him and second surprised at the words she had spoken. She immediately lowered her gaze, figuring that she had said the wrong words. She was quickly graced by his laughter though, and she felt a surge of relief rush through her small form. This time when Sun Ce spoke, his voice had returned to normal, a tone of youthful pride and humor replacing his nervousness. "Da Qiao," he started again, and she smiled as the words came out of his mouth, clearly this time, and she knew she wasn't mistaken.

--

"I love you."

Ce tried his best to hide a faint tinge of red from his face as the words echoed proudly through the room. The three words that had taken him so long to utter before came up clearer this time, and if she missed it this time, he had no idea what he would do. It wasn't like himself to feel embarrassed, but under such circumstances, it would be odd in his opinion _not_ to feel so. All thoughts of his so called "competition" with Zhou Yu disappeared from his mind for a moment as all went silent.

He kept his eyes away from hers, not knowing what her reaction would be. Would she accept him or would she finally shun him? If the latter happened, even the little conqueror would have to feel defeated. And by a woman; which was a great offense to his pride. Or would have been, if he had kept his feelings about women intact from before he had met up with the elder Qiao sister.

Sun Ce couldn't hide his surprise when he was treated to a soft giggle which escaped from the Qiao's lips. Involuntarily, he shifted, looking toward her to see why she had found the statement humorous. "My lord," Da said quietly, unable to hide her mirth, "I would chide you for saying such a comment without looking myself in the eye."

Ce blinked twice. Da covered her mouth as she giggled again, and to surprise him once more she added, "So I _did_ hear correctly that evening."

It took all his control not to jump back. "...you knew?" he asked, his voice betraying his awe.

"I apologize, my lord, I did not know for sure if that was what you had said, and did not want to believe it until I had a significant amount of proof."

Ce blinked again, then sat up once more, feeling rather foolish for not simply repeating his feelings to her the weeks back. It had only caused unnecessary worry. He was about to feel relieved once more, then remembered that she hadn't yet commented back to him. If he was a regular man, he probably would have waited for her to say something else, but he was Sun Ce, and waiting didn't really take top priority in his personality trait scale. He managed a grin, using words to try and brush off his former confusion, "Oh, well, now you know, eh?"

Da Qiao simply nodded, and Ce took a glance to her cheeks, which were rosier than usual. The sparkle hadn't left her eyes and it made his breath catch. She was undeniably the most beautiful woman he had ever set his eyes on.

"Uhh...so..." he started after a short pause, and she took the cue, her eyes lowering once and then raising.

"I hope you do not mind my opinion on this matter?" the Qiao asked as her gaze rose to his.

"Naah, say whatever you wanna say, Da," he said, keeping his tone as encouraging as possible. He took the silent moment to brace himself for the response.

Da Qiao pursed her lips together for a moment, then looked up attentively at her lord, managing to keep her nervousness from rising in her voice as she spoke, "....I love you too, my lord."

Her voice was so quiet that he had to strain to hear the statement, but to Ce it was the sweetest phrase he had ever heard in his entire life. His trademark grin was taking over again, and he felt an inner sigh of relief echo in his mind. "Well, that's nice to know," he said, keeping his tone friendly.

"Mm." was the simple reply.

A moment of silence was all the two needed to finish their settling thoughts, and both shifted after the pause, Da to get ready to return to her room and Ce ready to escort her. They mutually knew what was to happen from then on, and didn't bother to exchange words until they reached the door. There, Ce paused, making the pigtailed young woman turn toward him, a questioning look upon her face.

::It's now or never, Ce,:: he reminded himself, then scratched his head sheepishly. He tried to think of something to say, but all he could manage was a quiet, "Night, Da."

"Goodnight, my lord." Da Qiao responded almost automatically, and she seemed about to turn around to continue off when he moved over to take her arm.

"Not so fast," he teased, the playful grin returning to his face.

The young man leaned down a bit, glad when Da didn't pull away and instead sent him a smile; the one that encouraged him whenever he saw it. He watched her eyes shut slightly, and moved one hand to her cheek, his thumb gently stroking her skin. She leaned up--or was that his hand guiding her?--and he kept leaning down until their lips finally met.

He felt her almost melt toward him with the touch, and for the first time in a long while, his warriors defenses completely broke. A faint tinge of vulnerability shook him, but he ignored it, keeping full concentration on the dark haired angel in his arms. Ce cursed the need to breathe mentally as they moved aside, but as he regained his composure, he nodded to Da. The young woman smiled completely, her serene expression not masking her emotions from him any further.

"Now if you will let me take my leave," she said, her eyes twinkling as she exited the room.

Sun Ce shut the door after her, then wandered to the mirror, blinking a few times when he noted that he looked happier than he had from a long time back. Zhou Yu was going to be in for a nice surprise, he decided.

He waited for several seconds, then couldn't help from bursting out: "Oh, Hell yeah!"


End file.
